L U elF E R.

VOL. VII. LONDON, FEB. '15TH, 1891. No. 42.

The Edit01's do not hold themselves responsible for any opinions, whether religious,
philosophical 01' social, expressed in signed arlicles.
lIahtl of
Go to, let us go down and there confound their
language that they may not understand
one another's speech .
Gl1U$is xi.
II.
done with modern physical Sciences we next turn to
.G) Western philosophies and religions. Every one of these is
equally based upon, and derives its theories and doctrines from
heathen, and moreover, exoteric thought. This can easily be
traced from Schopenhauer and Mr. Herbert Spencer, down to
Hypnotism and so-called "Mental Science". The German phil-
osophers modernize Buddhism; the English are inspired by
Vedantism; while the French, borrowing from both, add to them
Plato, in a Phrygian cap, and occasionally, as with Auguste Comte,
the weird sex-worship or Mariolatry of the old Roman Catholic
ecstatics and visionaries. New systems, yclept philosophical, new
sects and societies, spring up now-a-days in every corner of our
civilized lands. But even the highest among them agree on no one
point, though each claims supremacy. This, because no science, no
philosophy-being at best, but a fragment broken from the WISDOM
RELIGION-Can stand alone, or be complete in itself. Truth, to be
complete, must represent an unbroken continuity. It must have no
gaps, no missing links. And which of our modern religions, sciences or
philosophies, is free from such defects? Truth is One. Even as the
palest reflection of the Absolute, it can be no more dual than is
absoluteness itself, nor can it have two aspects. But such truth is not
for the majorities, in our world of illusion-especially for those minds
which are devoid of the noetic element. These have to substitute for
I
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the high spiritual and quasi absolute truth the relative one, which
having two sides or aspects, both conditioned by appearances, lead our
" brain-minds "-one to intellectual scientific materialism, the otber to
materialistic or anthromorphic religiosity. But even that kind of
truth, in order to offer a coherent and complete system of something,
has, while naturally clashing with its opposite, to offer no gaps and
contradictions, no broken or missing links, in the special system or
doctrine it undertakes to represent.
And here a slight digression must come in. \Ve are sure to be
told by some, that this is precisely the objection taken to theoso-
phical expositions, from Isis Uti veiled down to the Secret Doctr;"e.
Agreed. \Ve are quite prepared to confess that the latter work,
especially, surpasses in these defects all the other theosophical works.
We are quite ready to admit the faults charged against it by its critics
-that it is badly arranged, discursive, over-burdened with digressions
into by-ways of mythology, etc., etc. But then it is neither a philoso-
phical system nor the Doctrine, called secret or esoteric, but only a
record of a few of its facts and a wi!ness to it. It has never claimed to
be the full exposition of the system (it advocates) in its totality; (a)
because as the writer does not boast of being a great Initiate, she could,
therefore, never have undertaken such a gigantic task; and (b) because
had she been one, she would have divulged still less. It has never
been contemplated to make of the sacred truths an integral system for.
the ribaldry and sneers of a profane and iconoclastic public. The
work does not pretend to set up a series of explanations, complete in
all their details, of the mysteries of Being; nor does it seek to win
for itself the name of a distinct system of thought-like the works of
Messrs. Herbert Spencer, Schopenhauer or Comte. On the contrary, the
Secret Doctrine merely asserts that a system, known as the WISDOM RELI-
GION, the work of generations of adepts and seers, the sacred heirloom
of pre-historic times-actually exists, though hitherto preserved in the
greatest secrecy by the present Initiates; and it points to various corrobor-
ations of its existence to this very day, to be found in ancient and modern
works. Giving a few fragments only, it there shows how these explain
the religious dogmas of the present day, and how they might serve
Western religions, philosophies and science, as sign-posts along the
untrodden paths of discovery. The work is essentially fragmentary,
giving statements of sundry facts taught in the esoteric schools-kept,
so far, secret-by which the ancient symbolism of various nations is
interpreted. It does not even give the keys to it, but merely opens a few
of the hitherto secret drawers. No new philosophy is set up in the Secret
Doctrine, only the hidden meaning of some of the religious allegories
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of antiquity is given, light being thrown on these by the esoteric
sciences, and the common source is pointed out, whence all the
world-religions and philosophies have sprung. Its chief attempt is to
show, that however divergent the respective doctrines and systems of
old may seem on their external or objective side, the agreement
between all becomes perfect, so soon as the esoteric or inner side
of these beliefs and their symbology are examined and a careful
comparison made. It is also maintained that its doctrines and
sciences, which form an integral cycle of universal cosmic facts
and metaphysical axioms and truths, represent a complete and
unbroken system; and that he who is brave and persevering
enough, ready to crush the animal in himself, and forgetting the
human self, sacrifices it to his Higher Ego, can always find his way to
become initiated into these mysteries. This is all the Secret Doctrine
claims. Are not a few facts and self-evident truths, found in these
volumes-all the literary defects of the exposition notwithstanding,-
truths already proved practically to some, better than the most ingenious
"working" hypotheses, liable to be upset ar.y day, than the unexplainable
mysteries of religious dogmas, or the most seemingly profound philoso-
phical speculations? Can the grandest among these speculations be
really profound, when from their A lpha to their Omega they are limited
and conditioned by their author's brain-mind, hence dwarfed and
crippled on that Procrustean bed, cut down to fit limited sensuous per-
ceptions which will not allow the intellect to go beyond their enchanted
circle? No" philosopher" who views the spiritual realm as a mere
figment of superstition, and regards man's mental perceptions as
simply the result of the organization of the brain, can ever be
worthy of that name.
Nor has a materialist any right to the appellation, since it means
a "lover of \Yisdom ", and Pythagoras, who was the first to coin
the compound term, never limited \Yisdom to this earth. One who
affirms that the Universe and Man are objects of the senses only,
and who fatally chains thought within the region of senseless matter,
as do the Darwinian evolutionists, is at best a sophiap"obe when not a
philosophaster-never a philosopher.
Therefore is it that in this age of Materialism, Agnosticism,
Evolutionism, and false Idealism, there is not a system, however
intellectually expounded, that can stand on its own legs, or fail to be
criticized by an exponent from another school of thought as materia-
listic as itself; even Mr. Herbert Spencer, the greatest ofall, is unable
to answer some criticisms. Many are those who remember the fierce
polemics that raged a few years ago in the English and American
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journals between the Evolutionists on the one hand and the Positivists
on the other. The subject of the dispute was with regard to the
attitude and relation that the theory of evolution would bear to
religion. Mr. F. Harrison, the Apostle of Positivism, charged Mr.
Herbert Spencer with restricting religion to the realm of reason, for
getting that feeling and not the cognizing faculty, played the most
important part in it. The II erroneousness and insufficiency" of the
ideas on the" Unknowable "-as developed in Mr. Spencer's works-
were also taken to task by Mr. Harrison. The idea was erroneous, he
held, because it was based on the acceptation of the metaphysical
absolute. It was insufficient, he argued, because it brought deity
down to an empty abstraction, void of any meaning.- To this the
great English writer replied, that he had never thought of offering his
" Unknowable" and Incognizable, as a subject for religious worship.
Then stepped into the arena, the respective admirers and defenders
of Messrs. Spencer and Harrison, some defending the material meta-
physics of the former thinker (if we may be permitted to use this para-
doxical yet correct definition of Mr. Herbert Spencer's philosophy),
others, the arguments of the Godless and Christless Roman Catholicism
of Auguste Comte, t both sides giving and receiving very hard blows.
Thus, Count d'Alviella of Brussels! suddenly discovered in Mr. H.
Spencer a kind of hidden, yet reverential Theist, and compared Mr.
Harrison to a casuist of medireval Scholasticism.
It is not to discuss the relative merits of materialistic Evolutionism,
ot of Positivism either, that the two English thinkers are brought
forward; but simply to point, as an illustration, to the Babel-like
confusion of modern thought. While the Evolutionists (of Herbert
Spencer's school) maintain that the historical evolution of the
religious feeling consists in the constant abstraction of the attributes of
Deity, and their final separation from the primitive concrete concep-
tions-this process rejoicing in the easy-going triple compollnd of
deanthropomorphization, or the disappearance of human attributes-the
Comtists on their side hold to another version. They affirm that
fetishism, or the direct worship of nature, was theprimitive religion of
man, a too protracted-evolution alone having landed it in anthropo-
morphism. Their Deity is Humanity and the God they worship,
o As the above is repeated from memory, it does not claim to be quoted with
verbal exactitude, but only to give the glst of the argument.
t The epithet is Mr. Huxley'S. In his lecture in Edinburgh in 1868, 0. tJu
Pllysical Basis of Life, this great opponent remarked that Auguste '1Comte's philosophy
in practice might be compendiously descrlbed as Catkolit:ism ',"litIS ChrisJia"ily,and
antagonistic to the very essence of Science ".
t Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Brussels, in a philoso-
phical Essa)' 011 t/ze religious meanillg of Ike "
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44S
Mankind, as far as we understand them. The only way, therefore, of
settling the dispute, is to ascertain which of the two II philosophical"
and II scientific" theories, is the less pernicious and the more probable.
Is it true to say, as d'Alviella assures us, that Mr. Spencer's
II Unknowable" contains all the elements necessary to religion; and,
as that remarkable writer is alleged to imply, that II religious feeling
tends to free itself from every moral element" j or, shall we accept
the other extremity and agree with the Comtists, that gradually,
religion will blend itself with, merge into, and disappear in altruism
and its service to Humanity?
Useless to say that Theosophy, while rejecting the one-sidedness
and therefore the limitation in both ideas, is alone able to reconcile the
two, i.e., the Evolutionists and the Positivists-on both metaphysical
and practical lines. How to do this it is not here the place to say, as
every Theosophist acquainted with the main tenets of the Esoteric
Philosophy can do it for himself. We believe in an impersonal
II Unknowable" and know well that the ABSOLUTE, or Absoluteness,
can have nought to do with worship on anthropomorphic lines;
Theosophy rejects the Spencerian II He" and substitutes the imper-
sonal IT for the personal pronoun, whenever speaking of the Absolute
and the II Unknowable". And it teaches, as foremost of all virtues,
altruism and self-sacrifice, brotherhood and compassion for every living
creature, without, for all that, worshipping Man or Humanity. In the
Positivist, moreover, who admits of no immortal soul in men, believes
in no future life or reincarnation, such a II worship" becomes worse
than fetishism: it is Z oolatry, the worship of the animals. For that
alone which constitutes the real Man is, in the words of Carlyle, II the
essence of our being, the mystery in us that calls itself' I '-.... a
breath of Heaven; the Highest Being reveals himself in man". This
denied, man is but an animal-" the shame and scandal of the
Universe", as Pascal puts it.
lt is the old, old story, the struggle of matter and spirit, the
II survival of the unfittest," because of the strongest and most material.
But the period when nascent Humanity, following the law of the
natural and dual evolution, was descending along with spirit into
matter-is closed. We (H umanity) are now helping matter to ascend
toward spirit; and to do that we have to help substance to disenthral
itself from the viscous grip of sense. We, of the fifth Root Race, are
the direct descendants of the primeval Humanity of that Race; those,
who on this side of the Flood tried, by commemorating it, to save the
antediluvian Truth and Wisdom, and were worsted in our efforts by
the dark genius of the Earth-the spirit of matter, whom the Gnostics
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called Ildabaoth and the ] ews ] ehovah. Think ye, that even the
Bible of Moses, the book you know so well and understand so badly,
has left this claim of the Ancient Doctrine without witness? It has
not. Allow us to close with a (to you) familiar passage, only interpre-
ted in its true light.
In the beginning of time, or rather, in the childhood of the fifth
Race, "the whole earth was of one lip and of one speech", saith
chapter Xl of Gmesis. Read esoterically, this means that mankind
had one universal doctrine, a philosophy, common to all; and that
men were bound by one religion, whether this term be derived from the
Latin word relegere, "to gather, or be united" in speech or in thought,
from religens, "revering the gods", or, from religare, "to be bound
fast together ". Take it one way or the other, it means most undeni-
ably and plainly that our forefathers from beyond the "flood"
accepted in common one truth-i.e., they believed in that aggregate
of subjective and objective facts which form the consistent, logical and
harmonious whole called by us the Wisdom Religion.
Now, reading the first nine verses of chapter XI between the
lines, we get the following information. Wise in their generation, our
early fathers were evidently acquainted with the imperishable truism
which teaches that in union alcne lies strength-in union of thought
as well as in that of nations, of course. Therefore, lest in disunion
they should be "scattered upon the face of the earth", and their
\Visdom-religion should, in consequence, be broken up into a thousand
fragments; and lest they, themselves, instead of towering as hitherto,
t.'trough knowledge, heavenward, should, through blind faith begin
gravitating earthward-the wise men, who" journeyed from the East ",
devised a plan. In those days temples were sites of learning, not of
superstition; priests taught divine 'Wisdom, not man-invented dogmas,
and the ultima thule of their religious activity did not centre in the
contribution box, as at present. Thus-'" Go to " they said, 'let us
build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us
make a name'. And they made burnt brick and used it for stone, and
built therewith a city and a tower".
So far, this is a very old story, known as well to a Sunday school
ragamuffin as to Mr. Gladstone. Both believe very sincerely that
these descendants of the" accursed Ham" were proud sinners whose
object was like that of the Titans, to insult and dethrone Zeus-] ehovah,
by reaching" heaven ", the supposed abode of both. But since we find
the story told in the revealed Scripts, it must, like all the rest in them,
o A curious and rather unfortunate word to use, since, as a translation from the
J.atin reue/are, it signifies diametrically the opposite of the now accepted meaning in
English. For the word "to reveal" or "revealed" is derh'ed from the Latin rl:l-lillre,
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THE BABEL OF MODERN THOUGHT.
447
have its esoteric interpretation. In this, Occult symbolism will help
us. All the expressions that we have italicized, when read in the
original Hebrew and according to the canons of esoteric symbolism,
will yield quite a different construction. Thus:
I. If And the whole earth (mankind), was of one lip (i.e., proclaimed
the same and of the same words "-not of If speech" as in
the authorized version.
N ow the Kabalistic meaning of the term If words" and If word "
may be found in the Zohar and also in the Talmud. If Words"
(Dabarim) mean" powers", and ward, in the singular, is a synonym
of Wisdom; e.g., "By the uttering of tm words was the world
created "-(Talmud If Pirkey Aboth" c. 5., Mish. 1). Here the
If words" refer to the ten Sephiroth, Builders of the Universe
Again: If By the Word, (Wisdom, Logos) of YHVH were the Heavens
made" (ibid).
2-4. If And the man* (the chief leader) said to his neighbour, ' Go
to, let us make bricks (disciples) and burn them to a burtling (initiate,
fill them with sacred fire), let us build us a city (establish mysteries and
teach the Doctrinet) and a tower (Ziggurrat, a sacred temple tower)
whose top may reach unto heaven'" (the highest limit reachable in
space). The great tower of Ncbo, of Nabi on the temple of Bel, was
c::llled " the house of the seven spheres of heaven alld earth", and "the
house of the stronghold (or strength, tagimut) and the foundation stone
of heaven and earth".
Occult symbology teaches, that to bum bricks for a city means
to train disciples for magic, a "hewn stom " signifying a full Initate,
Petra the Greek and Kephas the Aramaic word for stone, having the
same meaning, viz., "interpreter of the Mysteries", a Hierophant.
The supreme initiation was referred to as "the burning with great
burning". Thus, If the bricks are fallen, but we will build (anew) with
If to re\"eil ,. and not to rn'eal, i.e., frolll re If again" or .. back" and velare .. to veil',
or to hide something, from the word velum or "a vail" (or \"cil). a cover. Thus,
instead of ul1vailing, or rn'ealillg, Moses has truly only" reveiled" once more the
Egypto-Chaldean theological legends and al1egories, into which, as one" learned in all
the Wisdom of Egypt" he had been initiatt:d. Yet Moses was not the first revealer
or rcrJeileY, as Ragon well obsen-es. Thousands of years before him Herm('s was
credited with ,-eiling over the Indian mysteries to adapt them for the land of the
Pharaohs. Of course, at present there is no longer classical authority to satisfy the
orthodox philologist, but the occult authority which maintains that Originally the
word rcve/are meant to "\"cit once more", and hence that revelation means' the
throwing a ,-eit O\'er a subject, a Milld-is posith'ely oyerwhelming.
o This is translated from thc Hebrew original. "Chief-Ieadcr" (Ra6-lIfag) meaning
literally Teacher-Magician, M,lster or G'uru, as Daniel is shown to have been in
Babylon.
t Some Homeric heroes also when thcy are said, like Laomedon, Priam's
father, to have built cities, were in reality cstablishing the AI)'Suries and introducing
the Wisdom-Religion in foreign lands.
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LUCIFER.
hewn stones" of Isaiah becomes clear. For the true interpretation of
the four last verses of the genetic allegory about the supposed "con-
fusion of tongues" we may turn to the legendary version of the Yezidis
and read verses 5, 6, 7, and 8 in Genesis, ch. xi, esoterically:-
"And Adonai (the Lord) came down and said: Behold, the
people is one (the people are united in thought and deed) and they have
one lip (doctrine) '. And now they begin to spread it and 'nothing
will be restrained from them (they will have full magic powers and
get all they want by such power, Kriyasakti,) that they have imagined'. "
And now what are the Yezidis and their versien and what isAd-onai?
Ad is "the Lord", their ancestral god j and the Y ezidis a heretical
Mussulman sect, scattered over Armenia, Syria, and especially Mosul,
the very site of Babel (see" Chaldean Account of Genesis "), who are
known under the strange name of "Devil-worshippers". Their
confession of faith is very original. They recognise two powers
or gods-Allah and Ad, (or Ad-onai) but identify the latter with Sheitan
or Satan. This is but natural since Satan is also "a son of god"*
(see Job I). As stated in the Hibbert Lectures (pp. 346 and 347), Satan
the "Adversary", was the minister and angel of God. Hence,
when questioned on the cause of their curious worship of one
who has become the embodiment of Evil and the dark spirit of the
Earth, they explain the reason in a most logical, if irreverent, manner.
They tell you that Allah, being All-good, would not harm the smallest
of his creatures. Ergo, has he no need of prayers, or burnt-offerings
of the "firstlings of the flock and the fat thereof". But that their
Ad,or the Devil, being All-bad, cruel, jealous, revengeful and proud, they
U It is commanded in Ecclesiasticus XXI, 30, not to curse Satan, "lest
one should forfeit his own life." Why? Because in their permutations
"the Lord God", Moses, and Satan are olle. The name the Jews gave
while in Babylon to their u:o/eric God, the substitute for the true Deity
of which they never spoke or wrote, was the Assyrian Moslu" or Adar, the
god of the scorching sun (the "Lord thy God is a consuming flame" verily I)
and therefore, Mosheh or Moses, shone also. In Egypt, Typhon (Satan) the
red, was identified both with the red Ass or Typhon called Set or Seth (and
worshipped by the Hittites) and the same as EI (the Sun god of the Assyrians and the
Semites, or Jehovah), and with Moses, the red, also. (See Isis UlIv. Vol. II. 523-24.)
For Moses was red-skinned. According to the Zohar (Vol. p. 28) B sirr ti'
Moshe" soomaq, i.e., "the flesh of Moses was deep red", and the words refer to the saying)
" The face of Moses was like the face of the Sun" (see Qa""alah by Isaac Myer p. 93).
These three were tI,e threi aspects of the manifested God (the substitute for Ai" Suph
the infinite Deity) or Nature, in its three chief Kingdoms-the Fiery or Solar, the
Human or 'Vatery, the Animal or Earthy. There ne\'er was a Moshe" or Moses,
uefore the Captivity and Ezra, the deep Kabalist; and what is no";\' Moses had
another name 2,000 years before. Where are the Hebrew scrolls before that time?
we find a corroboration of this in Dr. Sayee's Hi6/Jert uclures (1887).
Adar is the Assyrian" War God" or the Lord of Hosts and the same as Moloch. The
Assyrian equivalent of Mosheh (Moses) is lI-Idsu, the "double" or the Utwin ",
and Mtisu is the title of Adar, meaning also a "hero". No one who reads carefully the
said Lectures from page 40 to 58, can fail to see that Jehovah, MAsu and Adar. with
several others-are perlnutat;olls.
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THE BABEL OF MODERN THOUGHT.
449
have, in self-preservation, to propitiate him with sacrifices and burnt
offerings smelling sweet in his nostrils, and to coax and flatter him.
Ask any Sheik of the Yezidis of Mosul what they have to say, as'to the
confusion of tongues, or speech when Allah "came down to see the city
and the tower which the children of men had builded "; and they will
tell you it is not Allah but Ad, the god Sheitan, who did it. The
jealous genius of the earth became envious of the powers and sanctity
of men (as the god Vishnu becomes jealous of the great powers of the
Yogis, even when they were Daityas); and therefore this deity of
matter and concupiscence confused their brains, tempted and made
the" Builders" fall into his nets; and thus, having lost their purity, they
lost therewith their knowledge and magic powers, intermarried and
became "scattered upon the face of the earth".
This is more logical than to attribute to one's" God", the' All-good,
such ungodly tricks as are fathered upon him in the Bible. Moreover,
the legend about the tower of Babel and the confusion of speech, is
like much else, not original, but comes from the Chaldeans and
Babylonians. George Smith found the version on a mutilated frag-
ment of the Assyrian tablets, though there is nothing said in it about
the confusion of speech. "I have translated the word' speech' with
a prejudice," he says (Chaldcan account of Genesis, p. 163), " I have
never seen the Assyrian word with this meaning". Anyone who
reads for himself the fragmentary translation by G. Smith, on pages
I60-163 in the volume cited, will find the version much nearer to that
of the Yezidis than t() the version of Genesis. It is he, whose" heart
was evil" and who was "wicked", who confused "their counsel",
not their " speech", and who broke "the Sanctuary . which
carried Wisdom", and" bitterly they wept at Babel".
And so ought to "weep" all the philosophers and lovers of ancient
Wisdom j for it is since then that the thousand and one exoteric
substitutes for the one true Doctrine or lip had their begin-
ning, obscuring more and more the intellects of men, and
shedding innocent blood in fierce fanaticism. Had our modern
philosophers studied, instead of sneering at, the old Books of Wisdom
-say the Kabala-they would have found that which would have
unveiled to them many a secret of ancient Church and State. As
they have not, however, the result is evident. The dark cycle of Kali
Yug has brought back a Babel of modern thought, compared with which
the "confusion of tongues" itself appears a harmony. All is dark
and uncertain; no argument in any department, neither in sciences,
philosophy, law, nor even in religion. But," woe unto them that call
evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for
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darkness", saith Isaiah. The very elements seem confused and
climates shift, as if the celestial" upper ten" themselves had lost their
heads. All one can do is to sit still and look on, sad and resigned,
while
" The slack sail shifts from side to side;
The boat untrimm'd admits t!le tide;
Borne down adrm, at random toss'd,
The oar breaks short, . the rudder's lost:'

THE conscience of a man governed by his passions is like the voice of a
shipwrecked sailor drowned by the tempest.
I F you speak well of yourself you will be distrusted
If you speak evil, you will be taken at your word!
"VE perceive more readily that anyone is in the wrong, wht!n it is ourselves
whom he wrongs.
OUR experience consists rather of illusions lost than of wisdom gained.
Do not even think of d')ing what ought not to be done.
CHOOSE rather to be strong in soul than in body.
BE persuaded that things of a laborious nature contribute more than
pleasure to virtue.
EVER\, passion of the soul is most hostile to its salvation.
IT is difficult to walk at one and the same time in many paths of life.
PYTHAGORAS said-It is requisite to choose the most excellent life: for
custom will make it pleasant. \Vealth is an infirm anchor, glory is still more
infirm: and in a similar manner the body, dominion, and honour. For all
these are imbecile and powerless. \Vhat then are powerful anchors?
Prudence, magnanimity, fortitude. These no tempest can shake. This
is the law of God, that virtue is the only thing that is strong: and that
everything else is a trifle.
ALL the parts of human life, in the same manner as those of a statue, ought
to be beautiful.
A STATUE indeed stands on its basis, but a worthy man on the subject
of his deliberate choice ought to be immovable.
FRANKINCENSE ought to be given to the Gods, but praise to good men.
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ON II THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY." 451
OComwnts lln H tbt
anb Jj.\l.lt"
[I gladly give room to the protest which follows. It is wiSe and timely,
and may, perhaps, ward off worse than" petty criticisms of H.P.B."
Needless to say that Mrs. Besant's article would not have appeared had 1
seen it before publication. But I may point out to Mr. Patterson that
much of his protest, however true, is not exactly aimed at what Mrs.
Besant wrote. She did not say that the T. S. taught any particular
doctrines, but merely expressed her own view that the position of one who
belonged to the T. S. and ungenerously carped at the pioneer who
founded it was illogical. This is clearly a matter of opinion, and
Mr. Patterson puts the opposing view. One has but to read the new
II Constitution and Rules of the Theosophical Society" for 1891 (in the
Supplement of the January Theosophist), to find in Article xiii. 2, that" no
Fellow, Officer, or Council of the Theosophical Society, or of any Section
or Branch thereof, shall promulgate or maintain any doctrine as being that
advanced or advocated by the Society"; and, whatever we do, we have to
abide by the Rules of the T. S. Mrs. Besant would have done more wisely
to have called her article "Comments on the E. S. of the Theoso-
phical Society and H.P.B.", she would then have been on the safe side;
for a member of the E.S. who receives instructions emanating from the
Masters of the Occult Philosophy, and doubts at the same time the
genuineness of the source, or the honesty of the humble transmitter of the
old esoteric doctrines-lies to his own soul, and ;s untrue to his pledge. He
cannot be honest and remain in the E.S., in such a case. But then, the
Esoteric Section, its qualification II of the T.S. " notwithstanding, does not
represent the latter, and in future it will drop the additional words altogether.
From the very beginning its second rule stated, that the II Esoteric Section
has no official or corporate connection with the Exoteric Society" (see Llmfer of
October, 1886). Henceforth it will be called" the Esoteric School of
Theosophy", simply. Meanwhile, 1 thank our brother, Mr. Patterson, for
giving me this opportunity of expressing my feelings.-H.P.B.]

N the December number of Lucifer in an article entitled" The Theo-
&. sophical Society and H.P.B." there are the following statements:-
" The following article expresses the views of many members of the
Theosophical Society who feel strongly that it is time that some protest
should be made against the constant petty criticisms levelled at H.P.B.
As co-editor 1 put in this article, which has not been submitted to H.P.B.,
nor will she see it until the magazine is issued; so she is in no sense
responsible for its appearance.-ANNIE BEsANT.
"Now touching the position of H.P.B., to and in the Theosophical
Society, the following is a brief exposition of it as it appears to many of
us:-
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LUCIFER.
"(r). Either she is a messenger from the Masters, or else she is a
fraud.
"(2). In either case the Theosophical Society would have no
existence without her.
"(3). If she is a fraud she is a woman of wonderful ability and
learning, giving all the credit of these to some persons who
do not exist.
"(4). If H.P.B. is a true messenger, opposition to her is opposition
to the Masters, she being their only channel to the Western
World.
"(5) If there are no Masters, the Theosophical Society is an
absurdity, and there is 110 use in keeping it up. But if
there are Masters, and H.P.B. is their messenger, and the
Theosophical Society their foundation, the Theosophical
Society and H.P.B. cannot be separated before the world.
"If the members care at all for the future of the Society, if they wish
to know that the twentieth century wiIl see it standing high above the
strife of parties, a beaconlight in the darkness for the guiding of men, if
they believe in the Teacher who founded it for human service, let them
now rouse themselves from slothful indifference, sternly silence all
dissensions or petty follies in their ranks, and march shoulder to shoulder
for the achievement of the heavy task laid upon their strength and courage.
If Theosophy is worth anything it is worth living for and worth dying for.
H it is worth nothing, let it go at once and for all."
On these last grounds let us stand. If it is worth anything it is worth
living for and dying for; and worth working for and worth writing for, and
worth taking some risks for; and at the risk of incurring misunderstanding,
and at the risk of hurting the feelings of those whose feelings should not
be hurt, this article is written and some exception taken to that just quoted
from. For it does seem as though its author, through her impetuous
kindness and loyalty, had allowed her judgment to be partially influenced
by her feelings. And although there are few who will
disagree with her in most of her issues, yet there seems to be a little grain
of erroneous opinion in them from which a large and poisonous growth
may spring. If this is so, it is only true brotherliness to point it out.
lt lies first in the statement that: "If there are no Masters the
Theosophical Society is an absurdity and there is no use of keeping it up".
And again in another statement which says: "Once accept the philosophy
you must accept her (H.P.B.) ". May not much harm be done by the
holding up of such views? May they not tend to keep many out who
would be benefited by being in; and for whom the Society was largely
founded? Are not the statements in their iiature somewhat dogmatic?
Have we not still in our natures some of that intolerance which forcing

COMMENTS ON "THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY." 453
rather than leading, persecuted in the name of righteousness? For there
are subtle transformations possible in our characters, which will bring the
old faults out in new guises, and we are none, not one, quite free from
intolerance. The churches have creeds; but applicants for admission are
usually given to understand that they need not be fully accepted; and they
seldom are. The Theosophical Society has no creeds, but its members
seem scarcely able to avoid making them in spite of all efforts to the
contrary. And watchfulness as to the Theosophical movement must lead
those who believe in the Masters to see how strenuously they and their
mouth-piece H.P.B. are working against the development of them. If this
Theosophical movement is to be carried on successfully through the three
or four generations of the first seventy-five years of the coming century, we
must be very heedful. What do the Constitution and the bye-laws of the
Society, what does the application for admission into it tell us? Not one
word as to belief. They simply contain provisions which tend to guarantee
liberty and cultivate tolerance. Is it not contrary to their spirit to say:
II Once accept the philosophy you must accept her"? Accept what
philosophy? The Society has none. Not long since an earnest student
searching for Truth, but not one of our members, asked if we were not
Jesuitical. Was her position not well taken? It was, if we as a Society
have a philosophy. We constantly cry out we have no creeds, no dogmas,
no beliefs, and we almost as constantly, or at any rate very frequently,
unintentionally give the lie to this.
And why speak of the Society as an absurdity without Masters? Are
its objects, especially the first, nothing? If those objects were even
partially lived up to, and again let us say" especially the first ", would no
good come of it? Most certainly, and it is perhaps this good which the
Masters are seeking, rather than the acceptance of any philosophy, or any
recognition of themselves. *
Even a recognised authoritative leader may be dangerous. H.P.B.
herself is always inculcating self-reliance, and discouraging any
dependence upon others, herself included. She understands that the
true alchemist seeks to have men throw their opinions into one common
melting pot, knowing that they will take out all of the Truth which they
put in, and some of their errors transmuted. It is the real change of base
. metals into gold.
If the Society has an authoritative leader, beliefs will be accepted
simply on authority, and a belief thus accepted is almost of
necessity perverted. Look at the doctrines of Karma and Re-
incarnation. Many regard it as quite heterodox not to accept them;
and yet the first is often made a fetish of, and both are by many crudely
understood; the one often being looked at in a way to make of it a positive
fatalism, the other a kind of personal resurrection. This comes from
Our Brother, Mr. Patterson, is quite correct.-[H.P.B.J
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454
LUCIFER.
reliance upon certain persons or b:>oks accepted as authority. Such reliance
is against the presumable wish of the Masters. \Ve must seize on our own
truth and digest it ourselves: and if we do we cannot so pervert it.
A true servant should try not simply to obey, but, if possible, to
intuitively grasp the wishes of the one served. In the article referred to
in this paper it is said that H.P.B., is " willing to efface herself if thereby
her mission might the better prosper". And would she not say: "First
Humanity and then the Theosophical Society, and last myself"." Referring
to the Coulomb scandal it is said: "But then, instead of closing up
around the assailed Teacher, and defending to the utmost her position and
her honour, the fatal policy was adopted of attempting to minimise her
position in the Society". True, perhaps; but how best could she have
been defended? An illplanned sortie is, of course, unwise. There may
be a hidden enemy in wait, and we are told that the powers of darkness are
very active, vigilant and cunning. \Ve may, in ill-advised movements he
simply following out their hypnotic sugge,;tions j and any statement which
does not tally with the exact truth is an ill-advised sorlie. And when it is
said that: "If there are no Masters, the Theosophical Society is an
absurdity, and there is no use in keeping it up ", a mis-statement is made.
Let us by all means close round our teacher, but as she would have us;
not as we ourselves might like. And to do this we must remember that
we must lead, not force, people to the truth. \Ve must do it with all
tenderness, all gentleness, all patience, all sweetness. vVe must present
our views for the weak ones, not the strong ones. Not in the way of
temporising, but by giving out those truths which are most needed. \Ve
must try to understand that we are now to learn to be true shepherds
when our time comes, and while being schooled must bear in mind that it
is the lost sheep we are to save. The honest materialist, the honest
agnostic, the honest spiritualist, the honest christian-scientist, the honest
dogmatic christian, may be an honest disbeliever in H.P.B. and the
Masters, and an honest member of the Theosophical Society too, provided
he is enlisted in the cause of humanity. t Let us hold the doors wide open;
let us set up no unnecessary barriers, and let us wait outside until the last
one has entered. vVe can thus best serve, thus best defend. This is not a
policy of silence j it does not prevent our using pen and voice in defence
of our beloved leader j but it should prevent making belief in her a
qualification, even if an unwritten one, for membership in good standing in
the Theosophical Society. There are now many good members who are
doubters on this point. Don't let us drive them away by intolerance.
Perhaps they are under a dark illusion cast by the Brothers of the Shadow.
But to force them will not help them, and do no good to anyone. If,
Most decidedly so; such has been always my principle. and I hope it is that of my
friend and colleague, Col. H. S. Olcott. our President.-[H.P.B.]
t I have repeated these words for years: it is my (111S'U.'" to enquirers who
ask me whether belief in the MASTERS is obligatory in joining the T.S.-[H.P.B.]
Digitized by Coogle
COMMENTS ON "THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY." 455
metaphorically speaking, we slap the face of anyone who may speak
disrespectfully of H.P.B., we will not help her reputation but rather
strengthen the calumniator in his attitude. Our line of defence cannot be
well chosen if it does harm. And it will do harm if made in such a way as
to make a belief in any person or philosophy a criterion of good standing.
Let us stand shoulder to shoulder; let us strengthen those ties which we
are forming for this and the coming incarnations; let us by all means be
grateful to her from whom so much has come to us and the rest of humanity,
but let us for the sake of others be judicious. Let us make disbelievers in
H.P.B., disbelievers in Karma, disbelievers in Re-incarnation, disbelievers
in the Masters as welcome, or more welcome, into the Society than ethers,
provided always they wish to form the nucleus of a universal brotherhood.
All this is said earnestly and sincerely, but .with some trepidation, the
higher plane of carelessness not having been attained, and indifference to
others' opinions not having been acquired. But when so prominent a
member of our Society as the author of "The Theosophical Society and
H.P.B." propounds what appears to some of us dangerous doctrine, we
have no right to be silent.
H. T. PATTERSON, F.T.S.

IF anyone will give his mind to these sentences he will obtain many things
worthy of a man and be free from many things that are base.
THE -perfection of the soul will cC'rrect the depravity of the body, but the
strength of the body reasoning, does not render the soul better.
HE who loves the goods of the soul will love things more divine, but he who
loves the goods of its transient habitation will love things human.
IT is beautiful to impede an unjust man: but if this be not possible it is
beautiful not to act in conjunction with him.
IT is necessary to be good rather than to appear so.
THE felicity of a man not consist either in body or in riches but in
upright conduct and justice.
SIN should be abstained from, not through fear, but for the sake of the
becoming.
DEMOCRITUS.
" A STONE becomes a plant; a plant, all animal; an animal, a man j and
man-a god:' (Hermetic Axiom.)
"AT the beginning of every Manvantara (life-cycle) the natural tendency of
every Deva (god) is manward. A Deva drops its essence into the body of
a plant and becomes a stone; from the rocky womb, it creeps into the moss
and plant; thence Karma carries it into an animal, and there it remains,
until united with Alaya's light, after which the animal blooms into thinking
man. It is tbe latter who furnishes every new Manvantara with intelligent
and wise architects and builders." . . (Esoteric Cosmogenesis of the
East.)
"This is unscientific," says the Darwinian.
" This is heretical," echoes the theologian.
u It is, nevertheless, a fact," puts in the Occultist.
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LUCIFER.
,iltil- ~ l l p b i a
(Translated and annotated by G. R. S. M., u!itk additional notes by H.P.B.)
(Continued. )
It came to pass, therefore, when Jesus had finished saying these
words, that Mary Magdalene came forward and said: "Master, my
In-dweller of Light hath an ear, and I comprehend all the words which
thou hast said, viz.: 'All the Souls of Human-kind, which shall receive
the Mysteries of Light, shall enter first within iuto the Inheritance of
Light before all the Rulers which shall repent, and before those which
pertain to the whole Region of the Treasure of Light.' Concerning, then,
my Master, the word which thou once on a time saidest to us: 'The first
shall be last, and the last first'; the' last' are the whole Race of Men,
which shall come first within into the Kingdom of Light; so also they
which pertain to all the Regions of the Height, are the' first.' ,,* [198]
And it came to pass that when she had ceased saying these words, that the
Saviour was greatly astonished at the revelations of the words which she
said, for she was pure spirit entirely. And Jesus answered again and
said unto her: "Well, said, 0 spiritual and pure Mary, this is the inter-
pretation of the word." And Jesus continued and said unto his Disciples:
"Hearken, I will speak with you concerning the Glory of those which
pertain to the Height, how they are according to the way in which I spake
to you of them up to this very day. Now, therefore, when I shall have led
you to the Region of the last Supporter (I) which surrounds the Treasure
of Light, and when I shall have led you to the Region of that last Supporter,
so that ye may see the Glory in which it is, the Region of the Inheritance of
. Light shall appear to you like as a mere city of the 'Vorld compared to the
greatness in which the last Supporter is, and compared to the great Light
in which it is; and after this I will tell you also of the Glory of the
.Supporter which is above the Little Supporter. But I shall not speak
with you concerning the Regions, which are above all the Supporters:
[199] for there is no kind of language for them in this World, nor any
similitude, which is like unto them, that I may compare it with them, nor
quality, nor Light like unto them, that I may express them, not only in
this W orId, but also none in those which pertain to the Height of
Righteousness from their lower Region upwards. Therefore, certainly,
there is no means of explaining them in this W orId." . It came to pass that
when Jesus had finished saying these words to his Disciples, Mary
For the reason of this, compare Lucifer. No. 39. p. 19S, note 3. 1st. para.
Digitized by Coogle
PISTIS-SOPHIA.
457
Magdalene came forward and said unto Jesus: "Be not wrath with me,
Master, searching out everything 1n earnestness and steadfastness, so that
. my Brethren may preach it among Human-kind, in order that they may
hear and repent, and be saved from the harsh condemnations of the evil
Rulers, and come into the Height and inherit the Kingdom of Light, in
that, my Master, not only are we compassionate among ourselves, but WI
are also compassi(lnate towards tlu whole Human Race, that they may be saved
from all the harsh condemnations. Now, therefore, Master, it is for this
reason that we search out all things in earnestness, that my Brethren may
preach them to the whole Race of Men,. [200] lest they should come
into the hands of the harsh Rulers of the Mist, and that they may be
presenoed from the harsh Receivers of the Outer Darkness." [And
having received permission, she said:] "Master, by how much is
the Second Supporter greater than the First Supporter, and by what
distance is it separated.from it; or how many times is it ot greater Light
than it ? " And Jesus answered in the midst of the Disciples and said
unto Mary: "AMtN, AMtN, I say unto you, the Second Supporter is
removed from the First by a vast distance which is immeasurable, both
with regard to the highness upwards, and with regard to lowness, with
regard to depth and with regard to length and breadth. For it is enor-
mously apart from it by a vast distance which is not to be measured with
nderence to Angels and Archangels, to Gods and all Invisibles; [201] and
it is as much greater as it possibly can be in a measure, which cannot be
numbered by comparison with Angels and Archangels, with Gods and all
Invisibles; and it is of greater Light than it exceedingly, in a manner to
which there is no measure, there is no measure of the Light in which it is,
no measure of it compared to Angels and Archangels, to Gods and all
Invisibles, in the manner in which I have told you already on another
occasion. In like manner also the Third Supporter, and the Fourth, and
the Fifth, each is immeasurably greater than the next, and of greater
Light and separated from it by a great distance, which cannot be measured
in terms of Angels and Archangels, Gods and all Invisibles, according to
the manner in which I have already spoken to you on another occasion:
yet will I also tell you the Type of each one of them in its proper Emana-
tion." And Mary continued and said unto Jesus: "Master, of what Type
in the last Supporter will those be who receive the Mystery of Light?"
And Jesus answered and said unto Mary in the midst of the Disciples:
"They that receive the Mysteries of Light, when they have issued from
the Hylic Body of the Rulers, each shall be in his Order, according to the
Mystery which he has received. [202] They that receive a sublime
shall remain in a lofty Order, while they who receive the lower
Mysteries, shall remain in lower Orders: in a word, of whatever Region
each shall have received the Mystery, he shall remain in its Order in the
Inheritance of Light. It was concerning this that I formerly said unto
2
Digitized by Coogle

LUCIFER.
you: In the Place where is your Heart, there also shall be your
Treasure '; which is, each shall remain in the Region whose Mystery he
shall have received ".
[And John having asked and received permission to speak], answered
and said unto Jesus: .. Master, surely each will not remain in that Region
of which he shall have received the Mystery, without the power of going
into the Orders which are above it, or into the Orders which are below it? "
[203] And Jesus answered and said unto John: .. Well, indeed, do ye
search out all things in earnestness and steadfastness; now, therefore,
John, hearken, and I will speak with thee. Everyone receiving a Mystery of
Light shall remain in the Region whose Mystery he shall have received,
but without the power of going into the Height into the Orders which are
ahove it; so that he who receives the Mystery in the First Statute,* has
the power of going into the Orders which are below it, which are all the
Orders of the Third Space, but he has no power to go into the Height into
the Orders which are above it. And he who shall have received the
Mystery of the First Mystery, which also is the Four-and-twentieth
Mystery, and also the Head of the First Space toward the Exterior, he
too has the power of going into all the Orders which are without it, but
not of going into the Regions which are above it or of traversingt them. And
they who shall have received the Mystery in the Orders of the Four-and-
twenty Mysteries, each shall come into that Region whose Mystery he
shall have received, and shall have the power of traversing all the Orders
and Spaces, which are without him, but not of coming into the Orders
which are above him, or of traversing them. [204] And he who shall
have received the Mystery in the Orders of the First Mystery, which is in
the Third Space,t has the power of going into all the Orders which are
below him, and of traversing them all, but not of going into the Regions
which are above him or of traversing them. And he who shall have
received the Mystery in the First Trispiritual (T,ipneumatos) which extends
over the Four-and-twenty Mysteries in their series, which extend to the
Space of the First Mystery, the Region of which (Mysteries) I will tell you
in the Emanation of the Universe-he then who shall have received the
Mystery of that Trispiritual, has the power of descending into all the Orders
below him, but not into the Height to those above him which are all Orders
of the Space of the Ineffable. And he who shall have received the Mystery
of the Second Trispiritual, has the power of going into the Orders of tlte
First Trispiritual and of traversing all of them, and the Orders of their
Orders, but not of going into the Orders of the Height of the Third
Trispiritual. [205] And he who shall receive the Mystery of the Third
Trispiritual, which pertains to the Three Trispirituals and Three Spaces,
See Tables VII. and VIII. for all that follows.
t /'erlllStrare-to traverse or inspect thoroughly.
t Or the First Space withi",
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PISTIS-SOPHIA.
459
in their series, of the First Mystery, but has no power to go into the
Height into the Orders which are above him which dre the Orders of the
Space of the Ineffable. (2) And he who shall have received the Absolute
Mystery of the First Mystery, the Ineffable, which also is the Twelve
Mysteries, in their series, of the First Mystery, which extend over all the
Spaces of the First Mystery-he then who shall have received that Mystery,
has the power of traversing all the Orders of the Three Spaces of the
Trispirituals and the Three Spaces of the First Mystery, and all their
Orders j he has also the power of traversing all the Orders of the Inherit-
ances of Light, from the Exterior to the Interior, and from the Interior to
the Exterior; from the Above to the Below, and from the Below to the
Above; from the Height to the Depth, and from the Depth to the Height;
from the Length to the Breadth, and from the Breadth to the Length:
[206] in a word, he has the power of traversing all the Regions of the
Inheritances of Light, and of remaining in whatever Region he shall desire,
in the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Light. AMEN, I say unto you, in the
Dissolution of the Universe, that man shall be King over all the Orders of
the Inheritance; and he who shall have received the Mystery of the
Ineffable, that man ;s myself.t That Mystery knows the Reason of the
existence of the Mistt and of the Light; of the Mist of Darkness and of
the Light of Lights; of the Chaos (Pl.) and of the Treasure of Light; of
the Judgments and of the Land of Light and Region of the Inheritances
of Light; of the Punishment of Sinners and of the Rest of the Kingdom of
Light; of Sinners and of the Inheritances of Light; [20'1] of the Impious
and of the Good; of the Judgments of Punishments and of all the Projec-
tions of Light; of Sin and of the Baptisms and Mysteries of Light; of the
Fire of Punishment and of the Seals of Light, so that the Fire should not
harm them; of Anger and of Peace; of Blasphemies and of Hymns of
Light, and also of Prayers of Light; of Reviling and of Blessing; of
Depravity and of Flattery; of the Killing and of the Revh'ing of Souls;
[208] of Adultery and Fornication and of Purity; of Intercourse and of
Continence; of Pride and Boasting and of Humility and Gentleness; of
Weeping and of Laughter; of Slander and of Right Conversation; of
Readiness to hear and of Disregard; of Murmuring and of Simpleness and
Lowliness; of Sin and of Purity; of Strength and of Weakness; of the
Disturbance of the Body and of its Proper Use; [209] of Poverty and of
Wealth; of the Wealth of the World and of Servitude; of Death and of
Life."
Alltla".tes mllStmoIJ.
t Compare Bnagaf)Q(/-gtla, Book vii.
oo stayed on me,
oo Taking me as their utmost blessedness,
oo They are not ' mine', but I--ewll I ",,'seq I ..
(S/IIIg C,I,sIUlI.)
t Lit .. .. wherefore the Mist has been made. &c."
Digitized by Coogle
LUCIFER.
It came to pass that when Jesus had finished saying these words to
his Disciples, they rejoiced with great joy and were glad. And Jesus
continued in his conversation and said: "Hearken, then, further, my
Disciples, I will speak with you concerning the whole Understanding of
the Mystery of the Ineffable. The Mystery of that Ineffable knows the
Reason of the Existence of Unmercifulness and of Compassion; of Destruc-
tion and of Eternal Increase; of Reptiles and why they must be destroyed;
[210] of Wild Beasts and why they too must be destroyed; of Cattle and
Birds; of Mountains and the Precious Stones in them; of the Hyle of
Gold and the Hyle of Silver; of the Hyle of Copper and the Hyle of Iron
and also of Steel; of the Hyle of Lead and of Glass and of Wax; of
Grasses and Plants and of all Hyle (Pl.); of Waters and Lands and all
therein, and also of the Earth; [211] of Seas and Waters and of
the Wild Denizens of the Seas; of the Hyle of the World and why it must
be utterly resolved."
And Jesus continued, and said unto his Disciples: "Further, then, my
Disciples and and Brethren, let each of you be sober in that
Spirit which is in him, that ye may lend ear and comprehend all the words
which I shall say unto you, for henceforth from this time I shall proceed
to speak with you concerning all the Understanding of the Ineffable. That
Mystery knows the Reason of the Existence of the \-Vest and East; of the
South and North. Still further, my Disciples, listen and continue to be
sober, that ye may hear the whole Understanding of the Mystery of the
Ineffable. That Mystery knows the Reason of the Existence of Human-
kind i of the Burning Heat and of the Mild Breeze; of the Stars and
Clouds; [212] of the Depth and why the Water comes over it; of the
Dry Land and why the Rain comes thereon; of H unger and Abundance;
of Hoar Frost and Healthful Dew; of Dust and Delightful Refreshment;
of Hail and and Pleasant Snow; of the West Wind and the East \Vind;
of the Heat of the Height and also the Waters; of the East \Vind and the
South \Vind and the North Wind; of the Stars of Heaven and also the
Disks of the Light-givers and the Firmament and all its Veils; [213] of
the Rulers of the Spheres, and the Sphere and all its Regions; of the
Rulers of the .tEons, and the .tEons and their Veils; of the Rulers of the
lEons of the Tyrants, and the Repentant Rulers; of the Ministers
(Leitou,goi) and Decans; of the Angels and Archangels; of Lords and
Gods; of Rivalry in the Height and of the Lack of Rivalry: of Hate and
Love; of Dissention and Reconciliation; of Avarice and the Renunciation
of all things [214] and of the Love of Possessions: of the Desire of
repletion and Satiety; of those with and of those without a Syzygy"';
of Impiety and the Love of Deity; of the Light-givers and the Sparks;
of the Triple-Powers and Invisibles; ofthe Forefathers and the Pure Onest ;
Sc., the Paired and Unpaired of pag. 2.
t Eilikri",is, the same as the Ungenerated (Aglflrllioi) of/ago 2.
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FISTIS-SOPHIA.
of the Great Self-willed One and those faithful to h i ~ of the Great Triple-
Power and the Great Forefather, the Invisible; [215] of the Thirteenth
lEon and the Region of them that pertain to the Midst; of the Receivers*
of the Midst and the Virgins of Light; of the Ministers (Dialmoi) of the
Midst and the Angels thereof; of the Land of Light and the Great Receiver
of Light; of the Guardian of the Region of them which pertain to the
Right and their Leaders; of the Gate of Life and Sabaoth, the Good;
of the Region of them that pertain to the Right and the Land of Light
which is the Treasure of Light; of the Projections of Light and the Twelve
Saviours; of the Three Gates of the Treasure of Life and their Nine Guar-
dians; [216] of the Twin Saviours and the Three Amens; of the Five
Trees and the Seven Amens; of the Mixture which was not yet manifested,
and why it is purified."
And Jesus continued and said unto his Disciples: "Be sober still, my
Disciples, and let each of you bring the Power of the Perception of Light
for him&elf, in order that ye may give ear in earnestness. For henceforth
from this time I will speak with you concerning all the Region of the
Truth of the Ineffable and of the manner in which it is." .
And it came to pass that when the Disciples heard these words which
Jesus said that they gave way and were entirely at a loss. And Mary
Magdalene came forward and bowed herself at the feet of Jesus, and
adored them, and crying out with tears said: "Have mercy upon me, 0
Master, otherwise my Brethren have heard, but failed to grasp the words
which thou dost speak unto them. Now, therefore, Master, concerning
the Understanding of all the things which thou hast said are in the Mystery
of the Ineffable, [217J I have heard thee saying unto me: Henceforth
from this time, I will begin to speak with you concerning the whole
Understanding of the Mystery of the Ineffable'. Surely then thou hast
not yet drawn nigh to the accomplishing of that word? On account of
this, therefore, in listening they ha ve failed, and have ceased to perceive the
manner in which thou speakest to them on account of the words thou usest.
Now, therefore, Master, if the understanding of all these things is in that
Mystery, who is the man in the World who has the power to understand
that Mystery and all its Knowledges and the fashion (type) of all these
words, by reason of 'which thou hast said them?" And it came to pass
that when Jesus had heard these words which Mary said, he understood
that his Disciples were beginning to fail to comprehend the teachings.
Therefore he said unto them, strengthening them: "Grieve not, my
Disciples, concerning the Mystery of the Ineffable, thinking that ye will
not understand it. AMtN, I say unto you, that that Mystery is yours and
everyone's who shall give ear to you, so that they renounce this world and
all its Hyle, and also all evil thoughts therein, and all the cares of this
lEon. [218] Now, therefore, I say unto you: Whosoever renounces the
Par(l,llmptores: this would be better translated by the term .. Overtakers". if such a
word were permissible.
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LUCIFER.
whole of this World and all therein, and submits himself to the Divine
Deity, to him this Mystery is easier than all the Mysteries of the Kingdom
of Light; it is more expedient to know it than (to know) all these, and it
is more clear than them all. He who enters into the understanding of
that Mystery, shall renounce the whole of this World and all the cares
therein. On account of this, then, I once said unto you: 'Come unto me
all ye that are oppressed with cares and are labouring under their weight,
and I will give you rest, for my burden is !ight and my yoke is gentle'.
Now, therefore, he who will receive that Mystery will renounce the whole
World and the cares of all the Hyle therein. Therefore, my Disciples,
grieve not, thinking that ye will not understand that Mystery. AMiN, I
say unto you, it is more serviceable to know that Mystery than all
Mysteries; and AMiN, I say unto you, that Mystery is yours and everyone's
who renounces the whole world and all the Hyle therein. Now, therefore,
hearken, my Disciples and and Brethren, I will impel you to the
understanding of the Mystery of the Ineffable. [219] These things I say
unto you, for I am come to give yon every understanding in the Emanation
of the UniverSe, in that tiu EmtUUJtitm of tiu Universe is its undentllMing.
COMMENTARY.
(I) To understand the position of the Five Supporters in this marvellous
system of iEonology, the student should refer to pagg. 17 and 18. It is
there stated that the three Vestures, that is to say the three Buddhic Robes,
or the three grand degrees of Initiation, are endowed with the following
characteristics respectively.
I. The Glory of all the Names of the Mysteries and of all the
Projections of the Orders of the Spaces of the Ineffable.
II. The Glory of all the Names of the Mysteries and of all the
Projections of the Orders of the two Spaces of First
Mystery.
III. The Glory of all the Names from that of the Mystery, the
Revealer, which is called the First Precept do.wnwards to
them of the Firmament.
We are also told in pag. I and elsewhere more elaborately, that the
First Mystery surrounds or comprehends
The First Precept.
The 5 Impressions (Tyies or Rudimeflts).
The Great Light of Lights.
The 5 Supporters.
Rays of this Light of the Treasure of Light reach down to the
World of Men, for they are the intelligences, or Light Powers, of all the
planes below the Treasure, down to the terrestrial. These Orders may be
figured by a series of concentric circles, the centre one representing the
Treasure, the next the Last or Little Supporter surrounding it, and so
on with spheres of ever greater diameter, typifying ever expanding
states of consciousness.
The above category from the First Precept down to the 5 Supporters,
gives a key to the numbers 5, " and 12 (5+7) which will prove of great
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PISTIS-SOPHIA.
assistance in the comprehension of the classification of the Mysteries and
corresponding states of consciousness which follow. The Great Light is
the reflection and Upadhi of the First Precept or First Mystery, and the
5 Supporters, reflections of the 5 Impressions, 12 in all. These correspond
to the 5 Subtle and 5 Gross Elements which, together with the 2 unmani-
fested elements, make up 12. Perhaps the following quotation from
Professor Manilal Nabhubhai Dvivedi's Monism or Advaitism? will make
it clearer:-
"The Amla;ta begins with examining the di\'isions of PYI/Nril" and clearly demon-
strates, perhaps for the first time in the field of ancient Indian Rationalism, the
truth that the five elements-Akdsa, Vdyu, Tt'jlls, jala, Prit/w;-al'e but fi\'e slates.of
PraNr;I; derivable from one another. From Ak:isa, whose specific mark is S'lbda
which, by the way, we render not by sound but by dijferenlialion, pro(;(!eds Vayu
(gaseous matter) with its specific mark SparStl (touch) super,added to the original
SaMa; dijferenliatilln in Vayu leads to TfjllS (heated matter) with its specific JIlark
Rupa (form, heat, light) superadded to SaM a and Sparsa; from Tejas, jala (liquid
matter) with its specific mark Rasa (taste) ; a l ~ d from jllla, Prit/w; with its specific
mark GtlIullza (smell). Thus the five Ttl1lllldlras and the fi\'e Bhulast of the SdnMJ'a
are reduced to AUsa, the all-pervading potential form (ether) of original matter
(Mula-praler;tl}."
Now we are taught that a n e ~ element evolves with every Root Race,
and as we are two-thirds through the 5th Root Race, the fifth element of
the seven is now in the course ot its evolution. We have thus a key to the
understanding of the" Amens and the 3 Amens; to the 5 Trees, 12
Saviours, &c., and the corresponding Mysteries. It must also be remem-
bered that the explanation of the elements above quoted, is only their last
reflection on the visible, material plane of matter. Their psychic, spiritual
and divine prototypes a're of a nature that cannot be described in words, as
we can see by the terminology of rable VIII.
TABLE VII.
THE ORDERS OF THE INHERITANCES OF LIGIH OR THE MYSTE1UES OF THE FrRST
MYSTERY (LOOKING WITHOU1').
M;'ster;es or Slates of Cons&;ousness. Spa&es or Planes.
ard. Trispiritual
~
tnd.
II
a Spaces
1st.
II
H{
12 Mysteries
1st Space towards the Interior
12
"
1st Exterior
(1rJ a series starling from fhe 24th IIpwards)
" "
First Statute.
ard Space
(To be continued.)
~ ~ ~
Rudiments. t Elements.
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LUCIFE.R.
Is ibtosoplJv Ilmttbttsm?
II.-THE ETERNAL.
HE Thing-in-Itself is a postulate made by REASON, which can affirm
nothing thereof, except negatively; for every new expression given to
the postulate must be equal to the first expression, that is to say, must be
employed as a sylfOtlym, not as an attribute; and every synonym, as well as
the first expression, must be qualified, inasmuch as, being slaves to relative-
ness, we are not free to utter that which is non-relativeness (or what Sages
called THE INEPPABLE) by what does not exist in speech, i_e., an unqualifotl
word. The terms used by me so far, have been qualified (" Eternal",
II Unchangeable ", one qualifying the other, without predicating, since there
is reciprocity), or the expression contains its own qualification (" Thing-in-
Itself", in itself being the qualification of tlu'ng). Anyone of the three may
be taken as the first expression of the postulate; then it would stand thus,
for instance: the Eternal = the Thing-in-Itself = the Unchangeable; or
we may say: "the Eternal is the Thing-in-Itself" (or, at option, II is the
Unchangeable ") or reverse the terms twofold. Hereby we synonymize,
we do not predicate; each new affirmation remains the same postulate.
But Mind is not governed by Reason alone. IMAGINATION cannot be
withheld, and will endeavour to pry into Reason's postulate. The
Unchangeable will be differently conceived, and the same concept, by
different minds, may be variously expressed; and admitting that the con-
cept could make any advance toward the truth, the rendering of the concept
will never be otherwise than inadequately worded, and call for a new
qualified synonym to translate some idea involved in the concept, by a
vocable. That is, relation must be abstracted from the meaning of any new
symbol, although the sub-idea is based on an unknowable kind of relation
(co-existence oj relativeness and non-relativeness, postulated by Reason). For the
co-existence is posited as a necessil,)', involving a relation which is non-
relation. If, for instance, the concept of Imagination be that of a Centre
which, without being at the centre of any thing is the unapproachable Centre
of every possible centre; such Centre is not a centre in the ordinary
acceptation, and is qualified by the word unapproachable. It is simply a new
synonym. And if, to word the indefinable relation-or, relation-not-a-
relation-of Centre with centres, we use the term Influence, it is not influ-
ence in any of its accepted senses, but another synonym brought in for
help. Such an influence is not a subjective operation-just as, in genuine
If instead of a postulate, we make it an attribute, and say: .. The lnfiuence of the
Eternal" (etc.), the case alters altogether. This would be placing it in Time, and yield
Pantheism.
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/5 THEOSOPHY PANTHEISM?
Virtue, example (the operation) is not a subjective operation-nor is the
Influence an objective operation (as example is, in unalloyed Virtue). But
while, in the case of Virtue, the effect (of example), if any there be, is defi-
nite and like unto its source i in the other case the effectnotan-effect is
indefinite and has nought in common with the Influence.
This effect-not-an-effect is CHANGE, which, if it were the effect of another
cause than itself, would make Relativeness the tlltima ratio (i.e., Non-
relativeness would be Relativeness), which is reductio ad absurdum. In a.
word, the unknowable state postulated, while not itself Necessity, is neces-
sary to the Knowable. Reason asks how Change can be, without something
else? Reason answers, "something else" can only be the
And Reason adds, that the Changeable is necessarily co-eval with the
Changeless, in that the latter is Non-relativeness (another synonym).
All that can be predicated has for its basis the First Cause, whose
states are two; one inactive, the other active, the latter having a twofold
aspect. I will call them its non-modal state, which is pure Consciousness, and
its modal state, which is subjecti-vity and objectivity. The non-modal state
is inactive, because the Modes of Force, here, are in equilibrium; and Con-
sciousness, when not objectivizing, is not a "force". The modal state is
active, because, here, the Modes are free-Consciousness centralized and
objectivizing as a "force "-and Motion is their necessity, in that it is
inherent, or they are Motion itself in their objective aspect. Their action
is characterized at one time by its centre of consciousness, at another by its.
dynamic centre. * During the first and last phases of a cosmic period, the
state is lIOn-modal, with a variable vestige of the modal. The other phases of
the period are modal states, and incompatible with the non-modal, when a
definite line of Evolution is contemplated. But as the lines are sundry, and at
various stages of development at a given moment of time, such states will
co-exist with the modal states of other lines, so long as the former are at
their first phase.t
Now, in a modal state, that develops or decreases proportionately with
the evolution or involution of its activities, that is, with the manifestation
or exhaustion of the Modes' powers-all knowledge is based on experience,
either actual or derived (this kind of knowledge is called by the Orientals,
Avidya, i.e., Nescience). There is none whatever about a state unconnected
with experiences. But there is either faith, doubt, or disbelief respecting such
a state. These are the effects of Reason, or Imagination, or Intuition, etc. i
and none of the latter, however high the intuition is, are effects of that
state, albeit they may be effects of some more lofty modal state. They
manifest themselves, as effects of Reason, Intuition, etc., because the Unknow-
This does not mean that such a centre is ulIConscious, far from it; but Consciousness
is otherwise conditioned there, than at the base of the phenomenon. The two centres may
be defined as the two poles of Will.
t
This is for Ivolution of the modal state. Reverse the statement for the IllSt phase,
whic corresponds to the fag-end of dissolution of a universe, or involution of that state,
which is evolution of the non-modal.
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LUCIFER.
able exists. This is the unaccountable relation between the relative and the
non-relative, in regard to the Modes, considered as causal or subjective
actualities, their objective processes being effects of the latter.
In the non-modal state-where Modes are unmanifested, the three
Forces being equal to one another-faith, doubt, disbelief have no existence.
This purity of Consciousness is SUPERLATIVE WISDOM (Atma-Vidya), which
means KNOWLEDGE that the Eternal is unknowable; therefore ceriainty of such
a state. It is the culmination of Bliss, where Resistence and Attraction
are unknown; for, both having the same essence, are equally involved in
the unmanifested Modes. This is the PARANIRVANAOf Eastern Philosophyt.
This wisdom of the Paranirvanic state is likewise no "effect" of the Eternal;
it is so simply (for tis) because the Eternal is. Such is the unutterable relation
between the relative and the non-relative, in respect of pure Consciousness.
But, whereas centralized Consciousness is a causal state, producing effects,
pure Consciousness produces none; nay, it is a passive state, to be cen-
tralized by the causal state.:::
\Vhat remains free, of the Modes, at the end of a cosmic period, is
signified by a vestige of the modal state. This is an effect of the threefold
mode of Force, whereby no equilibrium, however perfect in itself, can be
absolute, that is, embrace the Modes in their IlItalit)'. And this is so, not in
consequence of a cause foreign to itself (the Changeable, or Forces), but
because there is something else that is not itself. This is the unpronounceable
relation between the relative and the non-relative, as concerns the Modes
in their objective aspect, their subjective action being the alterant cause mani-
festing a new period. I have thus pointed out the three aspects of this mysteri-
ous and incomprehensible relation-not-a-relation, namely, those connected
with the two subjective states of Avidya and Vidya; and the objective
aspect identified in the law of non-absolute equilibrium.
At the close of a cosmic period the vestige in question manifests Resist-
ence and Attraction, because the Modes are not at one as to the involution of
their state in the vast equilibrium. At the opening of the following period,
Attraction alone is manifested (Resistence being potential), because the
Modes are in united harmony, concerning the involution of the non-modal
state into theirs. In either case, the non-modal is the passive state, neither
acting nor reacting. Under the former phase, attraction,. signified by
There are different degrees of Vidya; see Se&ret DodrilU. vol. I, pag. 168, It fassim
But pure Consciousness signifies, of course, a plane having 110 degrees.
t It is the only state in which the Ego is quite rid of Maya. All others corresponding
thereto are partial riddances. being subnirvanic states, more or less actualized by time and
space. Paranirvana is neither in Eternity nor in Time, that is, its reality (pure Conscious-
ness) is not in Time and Space. but it is subject to them both.
: The idea of R'''' Consciousness, which some minds appear to find difficulty in admit-
ting, is no supposition of mine. One quotation will suffice: .. The supreme spint (param-
alma), different from Prakriti and its modifications, having for its essential characteristic
pure consciousness, is unparticled. manifests this infinity of reality and unreality-the under-
lying essence of the notion' I, I '-manifests itself," etc. (Vitl. THE Crest-J,m 0/ JVisdo., by
Sankaracharya, 137.)
,r Not attraction as we understand the word, but rather Will.
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IS THEOSOPHY PANTHEISM?
two of the Modes, resistance by another, has for its object their own state
(superether dissolving into ultra-superether, effect as to this state i con-
currently with a freeing of consciousness and equilibrating of modes, effect
relatively to the other state) i whilst under the latter phase, attraction,
signified by the three Modes, has for object the Modes deadlocked (so to
say) by equilibrium, and the effect is a freeing of the latter and a central-
izing of pure consciousness, etc. Action and reaction are in the modal
state alone-whether considered subjectively or objectively-whatever be
its development or reduction. This is the seat of Mahamaya (general illu-
sion) and of Maya (more individualised illusion). The development of the
Modes, at the expense of the non-modal state (which is the seat of their
powers) i and the inverse operation, or ascent of consciousness at the
expense of the modal state (where it bides in duress), ;s all the wfWk of the
Modes themselves, while appearing to be the effect of alien powers.
As the modal state waxes stronger, advancing in its activities, pure
Consciousness does not decrease in Wisdom, its level as such remaining the
same, but that level grows less and less embracing, that is, the latent centres
of egoity forming it as a whole, are gradually and successively actualized-
not as units, this is a much later manifestation; but, during the first phase,
by a sevenfold group of units i a group = one plane of consciousness, or a
Cosmic Ego. At the other extreme of the period, the aspect is inverse:
as the modal plane slowly decreases, by involution in the non-modal state-
the powers of manifestation having been more and more expended in
phenomena-the last-named state (Wisdom from its very first appearance)
progresses only in the sense of universality, that identical plane of Conscious-
ness maintaining itself from first to last-that is to say, purl consciousness
has but one level, and no degrees. This is "merging in the bosom of
Brahma ", or the identification of self thereto.
(To be continued.)
" It is not best in an inglorious ease
To sink and dull content,
When wild revolts and hopeless miseries
The unquiet nations fill ?
* * *
Nay, best it is indeed
To spend ourselves upon the general good i
And, oft misunderstood,
To strive to lift the knees and limbs that bleed.
This is the best, the fullest meed.
Let ignorance assail or hatred sneer
Who loves his race he shall not fear i
V. DE. F;
He suffers not for long,
\Vho doth his soul possess in loving, and grows strong."
LEWIS MORRIS.
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'-
..,68 LUCIFER
anh "ounh.
PART II .
.. THE SHINING \\TORD OP GOD."

us now into the and ask, .. What
IS sound accordmg to the Wisdom RehglOn?' Those who have
studied the" Secret Doctrine" know that Light is the underlying power of
the Universe. It is the Light of Truth because it is the Self Consciousness
of the One Reality. At the same time this Light is the act of self
perception and is therefore motion in its highest abstraction. From the
Light comes the Word, which is the same as saying from Motion comes
Sound. This, as it stands at the head of a transcendental system of
philosophy unequalled by the profoundest musings of modern thought,
might pass us by like a breath of air leaving no definite impress behind
it, if it were not for the fact that we can find in ourselves a counterpart of
this cosmic manifestation. We are here brought face to face with a
metaphysical mystery in its material development. For while we are
told that the substratum of Sound is Light (or motion), we find that
practically in this world the substratum of Sound is Life. Light pro-
jects itself outward and downward in Sound (as the Word differentiating).
Life soars upwards in music (as the evolution from the lowest differentiation
of the word). And while noting the effect which motion has upon the sense
of hearing, while in fact sensually luxuriating in the refined and delicate
feelings which represent the eternal movement of the Breath of the
Unknown on this lowest of all planes (for such is abstract motion and
the power to move), we may faintly realise something of the beauty of
the Divine Music which Light flashes from above into the Spiritual Soul
of Man. For we are told that as below so is it above, only reversed in
order of progression.
Sound is spiritually objective to Light (as motion), whilt:! on the
physical plane motion is objective to sound, for it takes from it its meaning
or raison d'elre.
The Wisdom Religion teaches us that the Unknowable Reality is, in
the beginning of manifestation, the Light of Self-conscious Perception;
from this proceeds the \\lord or Creative Logos. Now there is a subtle
distinction between Infinite Light and the Definite Word, which is well
illustrated by comparing Sound to Speech. In this latter we have Sound
as the basis of words, while in the Infinite Light, Sound or the expression
of motion which eventuates this Radiance, underlies the Creative Logos
or Word made manifest.
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EXOTERIC AND ESOTERIC SOUND.
Then there is this difference between speech and musical sounds. These
latter are definite and as such proceed from the \Vord, the Creative Logos,
or macrocosmic conscience, while Speech, which may be defined as sounds
with personal meanings attached to t h ~ m represents to us the characteristics
which belong to the Unmanifested Logos; for both are the expression of
conscious individuality. Let us now refer to the seven planes, a diagram of
which is to be found in the " Secret Doctrine", Vol. I. Three of these are
Arupa or formless, and four are Rupa or formal. The Creative Logos
sweeps through the three Arupa planes as Sound, which expresses the
motion of conscious light in scintillating harmonies. In the four formal
planes, of which two are objective to the other two, Sound is divorced from
motion and the Light of Formless Infinity is extinguished by this act of
separation. Space overtaken by darkness is now defined by shapes and
shadows and their relative dimensions. But the slightest movement in
the siderial world causes a flash of light to brighten up the depths of
darkness, while in the physical world motion awakens music from her
psychic sleep and for the moment re)Jnites the consciousness of Life
to Form.
Space is the visible shape which the consciousness of the Universe
takes, and its discords and harmonies are the Activities which animate it.
Sound becomes the expression of the formative agent on the subjective
planes and the formation and transformations of the material world fills
this other sphere with ceaseless symphonies, a parallel to which meets
us as we stroll through the fragrant fields on a midsummer day and listen
to the hum of life which eddies round us.
In evolution from below upwards Sound is the expression of life on
higher planes. It no longer creates but completes creation and gives
voice to the silent energy of earthly things; and this is what we hear when
Sounds are heard. This brings us back to our original contention
that Sound is heard on Earth only in the consciousness of living beings.
Music is its language and when roused by material forms (such as strings
and pipes, &c.), music is the wordless language of the soul of things which
develops in Man the inner feelings of a mundane life, the passions which
animate the body of the World. Great Masters of harmony such as
Beethoven and \Vagner recall to us perhaps a memory of the feelings
which have led llS to evolve towards the perfect Man out from those
distant ages when the monadic breath brooded in senseless agony over
the unformed clay. Music speaks to us of earth-born life and belongs to
the three great streams of evolution which flow from the lunar and the
Solar Gods. The surge and volume of the Gregorian chant may per-
chance tell us of the progress of a Soul from Form to Form but never of
the Spiritual life beyond. Earthly Music is in fact the product of the
placing of the Lower Manas of Man in contact with the animal soul of
the W orId. Tuos. W lLLlAUS.
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C!::!.
LUCIFER.
Ilrnblmts nf lift.
FROM uTHE DIARY OF AN OLD PHYSICIAN."
By N. I. PIROGOPP.*
(COfItimud /'0111 the January Number.)
III.
ON ATOMS OF THE UNIVERSAL MIND.
November 21. 1879.
BEGAN my diary on November the 5th, and to-day, November 21St,
&. I resume it again after a few days' interval.
I write for myself, and will not read over again what is already written.
Therefore, there may be in the latter a number of repetitions, of half
explained ideas; perchance of contradictions and inconsistencies. Were I
to set myself to correct this, it would be a proof for me that I am writing
it for others.
I have confessed that I had no wish to keep my ""moi,s secret for ever:
those persons, however, who will feel interested in acquainting themselves
with my innermost life will be little troubled by such repetitions. They
will prefer to know me as I am, and study the real man with all his repeti-
tions, and even inconsistencies.
Hence I will busy myself to-day once more with my World-contem-
plation, and by repeating over again my present views, I may, perhaps,
elucidate them the better.
And now I put to myself again the question: what is it, in fact, that
forces me not to accept the atoms of matter as my concept of the Universe?
Why not regard them as something final, eternal, infinite, self-dependent,
consequently absolute and allowing of no other existence?
The atoms of matter are, viewed as a beginning, something just as
abstract as the universal Life-Principle which I imagine. Why then
admit of two abstractions when one will do? \Vhy not say, that these
atomic particles have always existed, and, along with all other properties of
matter, have always been capable of sensing, and of consciously perceiving
themselves? For where, and by whom were ever found in the
Universe sensation and consciousness without the presence of matter?
Who of us has ever known himself, and could think without a brain? And
why should not matter, endowed with other properties, be able to sense
itself, to know and think? If we cannot admit this, is it not simply because,
owing to our ignorance, inexperience and shortsighted reasoning,
Translated from the Russian, by H. P. B.
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PROBLEMS OF LIFE.
471
we have limited too much and too arbitrarily our views about the pro-
perties of Substance? and having done so, we have forced ourselves to
admit the actual existence of an imaginary (psychic) principle, invented,
moreover, by-ourselves.
Such were the questions that, at one time of my life, I had put to
myself, and answered them all in the affirmative and to my own satisfaction.
This is an undeniable fact : no consciousness and thought without a
brain; and these syllogistic arguments-according to well-known and
generally accepted lines of thought: cum hoc, ergo propter hoc-appeared to
me so natural and so unanswerabltl, that they did not allow me a shadow
ofa doubt.
But this same mind of mine, which had accepted so unquestioningly, in
those days of old, ideating-and conscious brain-atoms, came gradually to per-
ceive itself, not only in itself, but in the whole universal life. And then my
reason could not fail to see, that its chief phenomena-ideation and creation
-manifested in full accordance with the laws of design and causation,
as clearly in the whole universal life, without any participation of brain
matter. Is it not passing strange, that thought emanating from the brain,
should find itself there, where no individual brain has ever been discovered
by our senses.
It is this discovery by my brain ideation of the universal ideation,
common to, and in concordance with, the laws of causation and of design-
ment in the creative faculty of the Universe, which is the cause why my
mind could not feel satisfied with the atomic theory: with those sentient,
self conscious, ideating atoms, which act only through their same selves
and without the participation of any other higher principle of thought and
consciousness. The creative faculty of our mind, and its natural aspira-
tion to conform itself in its productions to aims and plans traced beforehand,
cannot fail to discern in each of its actions the difference between thought
and purpose, and the means and material which serve to carry out the two
former.
Thought and purpose, caught, so to speak, in the nets of the material
-whether on a canvas by means of the painter's brush, or in
the marble of the sculptor, or on the paper covered with the signs and
words of the poet-live from that time forward; their own life, for long
centuries, compelling the canvas, the marble and the paper to communicate
from one generation to the other the creations contained in them. Thought,
on penetrating into the brute material, makes of it its organ, capable of
generating and developing new thoughts in the spectator and reader.
If this is an indisputable fact, then no less indisputable for me is the
conviction that the Supreme Universal Thought, having selected the
Kosmos for its organ, interpenetrating and grouping the atoms into a
certain form, has likewise shaped my brain into an organ of my ideation.
Indeed, it (the brain) can be compared to nothing better than a musical
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472
LUCIFER.
organ, the chords and keys of which are set in constant vibration from
without, while someone touching, examining and listening to these vibrations,
and thus setting chords and keys in motion, combines out of these
oscillations a harmonious whole. This" some one" attuning "9' organ
into unison with the universal harmony, becomes my "I ".* And
then, the laws of the design and causation of the actions of universal
ideation, become also the laws of my " I ", and I find them within myself,
passing their manifestations from without, within myself, and from
myself back into infinite nature.t
Sensation, consciousness, thought (quite unthinkable processes without
the vibrations of atoms which form our common sensorium), cannot consist
of motion and vibrations only, unless these reach something that relates to
them, as the eye relates to light, and the ear to sound-vibrations; that is to
say, something which can receive these vibrations in order to transform
them into something else, and then, acting independently, communicate them
to the outside world. Are not these atomic vibrations of the organ the very
essence of our "I"? To accept the above means to me to admit in
Substance such an immaterial and abstract property, that would have no
sense-relations to matter, endowed with this property. Heat, light,
electricity, as effects produced by the motion of particles, have all direct
and immediate relations to our senses, and the capacity of acting directly
through these vibrations on the concatenation and affinity of the atoms ;t
and sense and thought again searching out in nature, light and heat and
electricity, and being by their nature purely subjective, become in their
turn objective, not in a direct way, but through the mediation of other
forces, in acting upon substances.
Life, force, motion, and thought are, in my conception, ideas so
closely linked together, that I cannot imagine the one without thinking of
the others. In Life, we have motion, force and thought; in Thought-
motion and force; and in Force-motion and thought. From this collective
or associated conception of life, that soil which we are accustomed to feel
under our feet is entirely absent. It has nothing concrete or objective
Or, as the Occultist would call it, the" Higher Ego". the immortal Entity, whose
shadow and reflection is the human Manas, th:. mind, limited by its physical senses. The
two may be well compared to the Master-artist and the pupil-mUSician. The nature of
the Harmony produced on the" organ", the Divine melody or the harsh discord, depends
on whether the pupil is inspired by the immortal Master, and follows its dictates. or. breaking
from its high control, is satisfied with the terrestrial sounds produced by itself conjointly
with its evil companion-the man of flesh-on the chords and keys of the brain-organ
-[TRANSL.]
t Had the eminent writer of the" Diary" studied for years the theosophical and occult
literature of the Eastern philosophies, he could not have come into closer harmony of
thought with esoteric mysticism. His was a purely natural idealism, however, a spiritual
perception of eternal truths. that no scientific sophistry could destroy or even blunt
-[TRANSL.]
l Physical Science, it seems, gives the name of .. atoms" to that which we regard as
particles or molecules. With us .. atoms .. are the inner principles and the intelligent.
spiritual guides of the cells and particles they inform. This may be unscientific, but it is a
fact in nature.-(TRANSL,]
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PROBLEMS OF LIFE.
473
about it. Nor could a conception of cosmic life, in general, be concrete or
purely objective j for it is a fotio", though to us, unavoidable and
inevitable, as such a life exists, and we too exist, think and act within its
vortex, inconceivable to us in its gigantic proportions. But then, even
our objective investigations, which seem to us based upon such a firm
foundation, are, in fact, only the investigations of our subjective thought j
as otherwise they would be void of all sense and not worthy of the name.
It is true that in all such investigations, our thought constantly finds for
itself a material lining or a canvas on which it shapes for itself designs
out of the substantial material at hand.
When exploring or analyzing an abstract conception about cosmic life,
we are unable to master the voluminous substance used by it for its
manifestations, while our investigation of its individual phenomena
makes our conceptions of the world-life fragmentary, one-sided, and often
false. One thing only is indisputable to an impartial and far-seeing
observer j the continuity, the causation, the plan and thought in every
phenomenon of the world-life. This means nothing else than the coinci-
dence of our thought and aspirations in the research of aims and causes with
what we discover in the world-life.
Thus, an unavoidable conviction seizes hold of me, that my brain (and
alsolmy whole self) is only the organ of the thought of the world-life, just
as pictures, statues, and buildings are the organs and the stores of the
artist's thought.
For the substantial manifestation of the world-thought, an apparatus,
composed according to a definite plan, of atoms grouped in a certain way,
was needed. This became my organism j while the cosmic or world
consciousness became my individual consciousness through a special
mechanism containt:d in the nervous centres. How this came to pass, of
course neither I, nor anyone else, can tell. But one thing is for me in-
dubitable: my consciousness, my thought and that innate aspiration of my
mind to be ever searching for aims and causes, cannot be something
detached, a unit having no connection with the world-life, and a something:
complete, that gives the finishing touch to the Universe, and has nothing
higher than itself.
Finally, the most desperate empiricism, which neither admits, nor
wants to know anything save facts and sense-perceptions, has to be
guided, in the end, by an abstraction, that is to say by thought, and we
see, that not only not a single sense-perception, based upon unconscious logic,
can do without it, but that also sense perceptions alone, without a conscious
and guiding thought, may be fit, perhaps, for an Epicurean empiricist, but
can certainly never do for an observing err.piricist and investigator.
Everything in the thinking Universe leads to abstract ideas. All our
mental representations and concepts, however much they may be based on
facts and sense-experience, become pure abstractions, so soon as they are
3
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474
LUCIFER.
subjected to a mental analysis. And not to so subject them, does not rest
with us. It is this corrosive analysis which transforms substance into
force. All that which we regard as the characteristic of substance, is
transformert by our mental analy!>is into something existing outside of that
substance which is subject to our senses, i.e., again and once more into a
force or a substance, opposed to Substance.
The atoms accepted by our mental analysis as the foundation of matter,
are transformed by it either into mathematical (and thus, ineo immaterial)
points, or into centres attracting to themselves other atoms; or again,
into infinitely small, therefore infinitely divisible, magnitudes. In both
cases substance ceases to be that which it appears to us. It loses its
sensuous existence (sensuous as subjected to our senses) and becomes, in
other words-force. Just so; a force, for having decomposed it into
atoms, we can no longer regard it as quiescent and inactive; and by
allowing it action, we endow it with the chief attribute of force (vir.,
action). In order not to deprive substance of its most characteristic
properties, we have to trace a limit to the mental analysis which decom-
poses it; e.g., if, by carrying on our analysis infinitely, we thus allowed to
matter infinite divisibility, then we would, as I just said, transform it into
force or into something invisible and intangible, outside of the perception of
our senses, and deprive it thereby of its other chief properties-impermea-
bility and weight. On the other hand, to limit mental analysis, by refus-
ing to carry it to the end, means to mistake for substance, not the last
product of the analysis-atoms, but only their agglomeration or congeries;
and in this case, we have to allow the possibility of the formation of
matter out of an accumulation of force. Nor do I see a logical impossibility
in accepting this final result of my mental analysis of matter. Very true, I
do not know what may be a force manifested outside of matter; but then
again, I do not see anything in substance, subjected to mental analysis,
except a manifestation of that same force; and all the properties of sub-
stance are in my eyes, such manifestations. So, for instance, substance
would become as permeable as force, did not its particles (i.e., its accumu-
lation of atoms) hold together by cohesion, without which primeval force,
there would not exist the smallest particle of substance, and the infinitely
divided matter would disappear from our world of sense. But the force
which manifests to my senses through the properties and motion of matter
could still exist without being necessarily in the form of agglomerated
atomic particles. How far, after the dispersion of matter, it would remain
entitled to the name of substance-meaning by the latter, to what extent
it would remain perceptible to our brain-thought-this, I am not prepared
to say. Yet, convinced as I am that beyond my brain-thought there exists
another, and a higher thought-World or Universal Ideation-I believe
that this Thought Substance would still continue to exist, and act in that
World Thought. And this Thought, and the Force which acts through it,
are just that which constitute Cosmic Life.
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PROBLEMS OF LIFE.
475
Yes; life, for me, is a collective conception. I have already said it:
life is an intelligent, illimitably acting force, ruling all the properties of
substance (i.e., its forces), aspiring, moreover, and tending incessantly
toward a certain object, namely the realization and support of being. *
The simple, empirical definition of life, by Bichat and others, is very
correct: life, according to it, is summed up by the collectivity of functions
counteracting death-l'ens,mble des fonctions qui resistent a la mort.
Indeed, in a living organism, a!: in the whole living realm of being, all
the vital functions are directed toward the conservation of life and the
counteraction of decay. The mistake, or rather the incompleteness of this
definition, lies in that it is not the vital functions of the organism per se that
aspire to, and reach more or less that object, but something else in them, a
ruling principle, intelligent-since it aspires toward an end, preserving
continuity in all the functions of the organism, namely-LIFE FORCE. t
All the mechanical actions of the organic arrangements and apparatuses,
all the chemical processes, the whole process of the organic development,
all is continuous, everywhere we find thought, plan, and the aspiration to
realize, preserve and support life. The mechanism of the organisation of
the organs, the chemism of various functions, &c., all this, the more we
investigate and the more we subject it to the analysis of the senses, the
clearer it shows in the ingeniousness of its formation, causation and design.
But that which directs the mechanical and chemical processes of the
organism toward its aims, that remains, and will remain for us the real and
the primordial Force, though for ever hidden to our sensuous perceptions .
.
December 2, 1879.
A few days have passed since I conversed with myself. Whether I
shall be able to catch the thread of my argument without reading over what
I have written, or not, matters little. I do not pretend to the title of a
philosopher, and write but for myself.
That which once seemed the greatest absurdity to my mind, which
was somewhat given to empiricism and that which strengthened it in me-
was the proposition that thought can exist without an organ to generate it.
No; Brain-thought is inadmissible without a brain.t But then, even
Useless, we believe, to draw the attention of our theosophists to the purely occult
and metaphysical speculations in the above pages.-[TRANSL.]
t The bugbear of the modern materialist: that independent Entity denied so
vehemently by eXMt Science and still believed in. and accepted by, the greatest Scientists,
such as Dr. Pirogotf, who prefer truth even to-Science.-[TRANSL.]
: Precisely so; but then Occult philosophy reconciles the absurdity of postulating
in the manifested Universe an active Mmd without an organ, with that worse absurdity, an
objective Universe evolved as everything else in it, by blind chance, by giving to this Uni-
verse an organ of thought, a .. brain". The latter, although not objective to ollr senses, is
none the less existing; it is to be found in the Entity called KOSMOS (Adam Kadmon, in the
Kabbalah). As in the Microcosm, MAN, so in .the Macrocosm, or the Universe. Every
.. organ" in it is a sentient entity, and every particle of matter or substance. from the
physical molecule up to the spiritual atom, is a cell, a nerve centre, which communicates
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LUCIFER.
World Thought is only the product of Brain-thought. Where can we find
its manifestations without the latter? And that is just the trouble, as I say,
viz., that the same feeling which convinces us of our existence, is inseparable
from that other conviction-the existence in the Universe, through its
manifestations, of a World Thought or Universal Ideation. And thus the
same mind which persuaded me of a design and purpose in our vital func-
tion:; and which antecedes them, sees the same design in the work of the
universal functions. In other words, our own mind, in whatever way it
may have been trained by empiricism or idealism, cannot fail to perceive
the presence of thought and reason outside of itself, just in the same
manner as it gets convinced of the presence of substance in its own
organism and also outside of it. One of these two things: either it (our
mind) has to regard all that which exists outside of itself as an illusion, or
else the sentient existence of the Universe-the whole of that which is the
" not I "-must be as undeniable to it, as is its own existence. To protect
myself from insanity and the lunatic asylum, it becomes necessary for me
to accept the latter proposition. And this leads us to a further and an as
unavoidable admission; the actual existence of a cosmic as well as of a
brain thought, of a higher and Universal Thought. Its constant manifes-
tation in the Universe that surrounds us, is the more unquestionable to us,
as all that manifests in our mind, all that it invents, all, in short, it can
think out, exists already and is in the manifestations of the Universal
Ideation.t
Of course it is far easier to a mind, trained in empiricism, to
conceive itself as a simple function of the brain. In practical life an
empirical intellect may, without any difficulty, choose such a view, flawless
in appearance, and based on unquestionable facts. The unavoidable result
of such a view, of coune, is that a universal design, conformity and creative
faculty according to a definite plan, are hut the products of our own minds,
a function of our brain. And this once accepted, we shall have to admit
also this other result -viz., that the brain itself, which finds through its
function (mind) a plan and design in the organization of our universe, does
so only because it happens to be so organized, that the atoms which
constitute the brain, have, under the influence of external conditions, come
with the braill-st.if or that substance on the plane of divine Thought in which the prime
ideation is lIroduced. Therefore. was lIIall prod"tld ill til' illlag, of God-<lr Divine Nature.
Every cell In the human organism mysteriously corresponds with a like .. cell .. in the
di vine organism of the manifested universe; only the latter .. cell" assumes in the
macrocosm the gigantic p r o p o r t o n ~ of an intelligent unit in this or that .. Hierarchy" of
Beings. This, so far as the differelltiat,d, divine Mind is concerned, on its plane of ideation.
This eternal or ABSOLUTE TUOUGHT-lies beyond and is, to us, inscrutable.-[TRANsL.}
Vedantic philosophy explains and reconciles the difficulty in a most philosophical
manner, by showing both the .. I" and the universe an illusion. Naturally we cannot
separate the two, both having to stand or fall together.-[TRANsL.]
t Evidently the great Eastern and philosophical teaching of .. non-separateness ",
recJnciling the two propositions. was unknown to Dr. Pirogoff. Still his philosophical
Pantheism is most remarkable.-[TRANsL.]
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PROBLEMS OF LIFE.
471
to group themselves accidentally, and by mere chance, in such manner and
no other. Furthermore, we shall have to allow, that it might have been
also, otherwise. The outcome of all this is something very strange: if both
design and plan are fathered upon the universe by my brain, and if this
brain itself, as everything else in the world, is but the product of a fortui
tous combination of atoms, a certain form of the grouping and composition
of which has resulted in that the operation of Ithe external world upon them
produces sensation and ideation; if, I say, we have to admit all this as an
ultimum refugium of the mind, then all that which I attribute to the creative
faculty of universal thought and life, must also be the. work of chance? It is
fortuitous-since there is no first principle to act designedly, intelligently and
rationally. It is fortuitous, I say, even in the presence of those numberless
legions of various forms and compounds, into which by means of
their own properties the atoms of matter have grouped themselves
together, as also the atoms of the brain; at first, of course, in some other,
more primitive type; and then, changing and becoming more complex under
the influence of external conditions, the now acting organ of ideation and
sensation was formed.
Thus, chance is the first principle of the creative faculty; it is from
the combination of its actions with the co.operative forces-generated
likewise, in the beginning, through blind chance-that the bastard, called
by us the Universe, has come into being.
In such a conception of the Universe as this, it is, of course, of first
necessity that we should recognize blind chance as the mightiest of forces.
But I will give my views upon chance further on, if I may presume that
this fair unknown is as much known to me as to those who ascribe to it such
a first-rate importance.
There is, however, even in this concept, a grain of truth.
In investigating nature even on the most empiricfl methods, that is to
say trusting only to those facts which we get through our external senses,
we still do nothing more, in reality, than transfer our ideation and mental
faculties, in general, to the external world; inversely, we cannot analyse our
own" I", otherwise than by making of it an external object, that is to say,
by transferring it outside of ourselves. But while accepting this as an un-
questionable fact, yet with the views I hold, I cannot agree, at the same
time, with the idea, that the design in cosmic organization, discovered in it
by my reasoning powers, is no better than something that I myself have
fathered upon Kosmos, arbitrarily or otherwise; i.e., that it is something
not quite as real or as unque:ltionable a fact as my own being.
But, the difference between my conception of the universe and the
empirical view is shown nowhere better or clearer than in the fact, that
the mind which regards itself as simply a function of the brain, views as
the greatest nonsense and absurdity the opposite conviction, i.e., the
existence of another, of a primordial and intelligent, vital Principle; one
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LUCIFER.
that is n.!ither functional nor organic, which is independent of the grouping
of atoms and the action of forces, and is itself that which organizes and brings
into activity the atomic forces; and the instrument or organ of whose
manifestations is the whole Universe. Thence, our brain mind discovering
itself-or that tendency peculiar to it, to design and creation, which is its
natural property-outside of itself, does so for the very reason that it, itself,
is only a manifestation of the Higher or Universal Mind.*
(To be continlUd.)
APOPOMP<EUS.
ApoPoMPCEus.-A name given by the Jews to the scape-goat, which when
loaded with all their maledictions on its head, was driven away into the
desert.-Quotation.
As forth into the wilderness, of old,
With all their sins and failings on its head,
The men of Jewry drave, with visage dread,
The unresisting brute: even so, behold I
The weight of all mine errors manifold,
By long-enduring time and custom bred.
Would I cast off, and harbour in their stead
Those dim-seen purposes of loftier mould.
Away! away! into the desert flee,
Thou apopomp, encumbered with the load
Of mine iniquities! nor ever more
Do thou retrace thy wayward steps to me,
But let me walk in that more perfect Road
That leads to LIFE ETERNAL, I implore!
ST. GEORGE BEST.
" How seldom, friend, a good great man inherits
Honour and Wealth, with all his worth and pains;
It seem a story from the land of spirits
'Vhen any man obtains that which he merits
Or any merit that which he obtains."
" For shame, my friend! renounce this idle strain:
\Vhat would thou have a good great man obtain?
\Vealth, title, dignity, a golden chain,
Or heap of corses which his sword hath slain?
Goodness or greatness are not means but ends.
" I lath he not always treasures, always friends,
'rhe good great man? Three treasures-love and light,
And calm thoughts equable as infant's breath;
And three fast friends, more sure than day or night,
Himself, his Maker, and the Angel Death."
COLERIDGE.
Precisely so; and therefore. Occult philosophy teaches us that the human mind (or
lower Mallas) is a direct ray or reflection of the Higher Principle. the Noitic Mind. The
latter is the reincarnating Ego which old AIyan philosophers call Ma7lasaJIltI the" Sons
of Mind" or of .I/ahat. the Universal Cosmic Mind. In the Hindu Purinas (see VishlUl
PllrclllJ) Mahat is idel1tical with Brahmll.. the creative God. the first in the trinitarian group
(Irim",'i) of Brahma. Vishnu and Siva.- LTRA:oISL.]
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IS SPIRIT A RIGHTFUL TEACHER?
479
J5 "'pitit a Rigbtfnl ~ t a c b t r
[The reader must remember that the words .. Spirit" and .. God" are used in the
Kabalistic sense.-Eos.]
C!:::!.
m T is a common (exoteric) belief, reaching back to the infancy of faith,
Q. that" God" teaches man through" Spirit". It is true, and this also
from time immemorial, that the very existence of Spirit has been and is
called in question by some: but it is equally true that faith in overruling
Spirit is the primary incentive to religion; and that assurance of the
teaching of Spirit is the groundwork of doctrinal belief.
That individual spirits have communicated with man through indi-
vidual men is the subject of historical evidence, let that evidence be worth
what it may; and it is probably worth as much as any tradition we possess.
That they have sought to teach man through specially chosen men is the
common claim of so-called Holy Scriptures. While that the action of
Spirit in regard to man is still persistently carried on is the basis of the
several religions of mankind.
And yet, however far-reaching this action of Spirit in regard to man
may be, those who have studied that action through its effects are aware
that its general characteristic is instability; and that this characteristic
pervades the entire range of Spirit action.
But if so, then the action of Spirit is not the action of God: for the
general characteristic of Divine action, according to human conception, is
stability. "Unchangeable as God" is the aspiration of man. "Change-
able as Spirit" is the witness of history. By what right does that which
is changeable identify itself with that which is unchangeable?
The existence of individualized Spirit cannot be so demonstrated as to
satisfy the requirements of science, though there is, perhaps, a tendency in
the present day to admit its occasional action as a form of undefined
force.
Spirit, as spirit, is thus unknowable of man. God also is absolutely
incognizable; and in this respect, though in this respect only, can be
likened unto Spirit. And it is because Spirit, like God, is incognizable of
man, that Spirit has been taken for God by man.
If God be the " Creator" of man; if God created man by natural
process, and placed him in a natural world, that he may acquire knowledge
in a natural way, through the experience of a natural life, then is the
teaching of God a teaching through nature.
But if the teaching of God is a teaching through nature, then should
God have occasion to communicate with man to guide him in the uses he
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LUCIFER.
makes of his natural life, the channel of such communication would be a
natural channel, just such a channel as is found in the natural conscience,
through which a suggestive guidance could be carried on.
Spirit cannot communicate with man through nature. To do so would
be to identify itself with nature and so veil its spirit identity. Its attempts
at communication are always made from without. It comes confessedly
from another state, another phase or plane of being, another world-a
world with which the world of nature is in antagonism: and it seeks to
draw man from "the experiencing" of the uses of life to a knowledge
counter to nature, and in opposition to its teachings.
That is to say, the unknown" God ", working through nature, is
opposed in his workings by an unknown " Spirit", working against nature.
Can Spirit, teachmg, working under such conditions, be a Divine
agent?
When man first becomes aware of the presence and attempted action of
Spirit, he shrinks from the unnatural contiguity with feelings of awe and
alarm. That is to say, God, acting through nature, warns him to shun a
dangerous and deadly influence.
Should man, actuated by curiosity or any other motive, disregard the
Divine warning thus given, and subject himself, more or less, to the
influence of Spirit, he is easily persuaded that the phenomena submitted to
him have a Divine origin i that theirs is a sanctifying influence, capable
even of making holy the ground whereon he treads i that the awe inspired
thereby is due to the actuating presence, which then claims to be Divine,
or at least to be discharging a Divine Mission.
This mission is a teaching mission.
Through the teaching thus given Spirit claims to be God.
By this teaching it impresses man with the belief that the nature he
has received from God is a fallen nature-the effects of a fall from which
it seeks to lift him. That is to say, it claims that the work of God in man
has, so far, been a failure-a failure from which it invites man to escape by
raising himself, from the natural state in which God has placed him, to a
spiritual condition, for which nature wholly unfits him, and which can only
be reached in its fulness by a subversion of the natural order.
But man has no knowledge of God save through the natural order. Is
wholly ignorant of the Divine intentions in his regard, save as they are
unfolded to him through his natural life. Knows only this, that life is a
use, a use provided by God-a use which Spirit condemns and seeks to
reduce to its smallest proportions i and thus learns that Spirit is working
from without against the work of God, which is a work carried on from
within i and so learning sees that before accepting the teaching mission of
Spirit he must submit for consideration the preliminary question-Is Spirit
the Divine Teacher? Is it a rightful teacher of man?
HENRY PRATT, M.D.
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THEOSOPHY AND ITS EVIDENCES.
anh its 05bibttttts.
(Concluded from p. 367.)
PART II.
up our investigation at the point at which we left it last
'@.: month, we have to seek evidence for the statement that a body of
doctrine exists, which has been secretly handed down from generation to
generation, and has been the basis of the great philosophies and religions of
the world.
As to the existence of such a Secret Doctrine, no doubt was felt in the
ancient world. What were the famous " Mysteries", whether in India, in
Egypt, in Greece, or elsewhere, but the unveiling to the selected few of the
doctrines so carefully hidden from the outer world? As said Voltaire: "In the
chaos of popular superstitions, there existed an institution which has ever pre-
vented man from falling into absolute barbarity: it was that of the Mysteries".
So Dr. Warburton also: "The wisest and best men in the Pagan world are
unanimous in this, that the Mysteries were instituted pure, and proposed
the noblest ends by the worthiest means". These Mysteries, we learn from
Cicero, were open only to the upright and the good: "An Initiate must
practise all the virtues in his power: justice, fidelity, liberality, modesty,
temperance." Originating in India in pre-Vedic times, the Mysteries
there, as later in more Western lands, reserved as the reward of virtue and
wisdom: "Resignation; the act of rendering good for evil j temperance j
probity; chastity j repression of the physical senses; the knowledge of the
Holy Scriptures; that of the superior soul (spirit) j worship of truth j
abstinence from anger "j such were the virtues exacted from all candidates
for initiation. They are the ten virtues prescribed later in the Institutes of
Manu, and" No one who has not practised, during his whole life, the ten
virtues which the divine Manu makes incumbent as a duty, can be
initiated into the Mysteries of the Council ". In Egypt the same strict
rules of conduct were inculcated: ere the neophyte could become a
" Khristophoros" and receive the sacred cross, the Tau, he must know and
observe the rules:" never to desire or seek revenge j to be always ready to
help a brother in danger, even to the risk of his own life; to bury every
dead body; to honour his parents above all; to respect old age and protect .
those weaker than himself: to ever bear in mind the hour of death, and
that of resurrection in a new and imperishable body". The very names
of the great Initiates of Greece are eloquent as to the intellectual and moral
heights attained "by these mighty men of the elder world: Pythagoras,
Thales, Democritus, Euclid, Solon, Plato, Archytas--these, with others
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LUCIFER.
like Apollonius of Tyana, Iamblichus, Porphyry, give us some idea of the
stature of the Initiate of old.
Now, it is beyond doubt that in ancient time the distinction between
exoteric and esoteric teaching was strictly observed. In Buddhism we find
the" doctrine of the Eye" and the" doctrine of the Heart", and we read
how Gautama, the Buddha, entrusted the secret teaching to his disciple
Kasiapa, and how Ananda preached abroad the doctrine of. the Eye, while
the " Heart .. was left in the possession of the Arhats-the Masters of the
Hidden Wisdom. Pythagoras divided his students into two classes, for the
reception of his doctrines thus classified. Ammonius Saccas had his
"higher doctrines", and those who received them were bound by oath
not to divulge them to the outer world. The" Books of Thoth", in the
keeping of the Initiates of Memphis, were the treasury from which
Pythagoras and Plato gathered their intellectual riches, and Thales and
Democritus culled their knowledge. At Sais, Lycurgus and Solon were
trained in the principles of legislation, going back to their own land as
Initiates, to lay the legislative foundations of ancient Greece. In the
Hebrew nation are manifold traces of the same traditional hidden wisdom;
Abraham, its founder, was a great astronomer and arithmetician, according
to Josephus, who also claims as a reference to him the passage in Berosus about
a Chaldean "skilful in the celestial science"; and the great Jewish scholar
Maimonides claims that the true meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures is
esoteric. "Whoever shall find out the true meaning of the Book of
Genesis ought to take care not to divulge it. This is a maxim that all our
sages repeat to us, and above all respecting the work of the six days. If a
. person should discover the true meaning of it by himself, or by the aid of
another, then he ought to be silent; or if he speaks, he ought to speak of it
but obscurely, in an enigmatical manner, as I do myself, leaving the rest to
be guessed by those who can understand me." Origen deals with the Old
Testament in similar fashion: "If we hold to the letter, and must under
stand what is written in the law after the manner of the Jews and common
people, then I should blush to confess aloud that it is God who has given
these laws; then the laws of men appear more excellent and reasonable".
And again: "\Vhat man of sense will agree with the statement that the
first, second, and third days, in which the evening is named and the
morning, were without sun, moon and stars, and the first day without a
heaven? \\'hat man is found such an idiot as to suppose that God planted
trees in paradise, like a husbandman? . . . . I believe that every
man must hold these things for images, under which a hidden sense lies
concealed". Paul speaks in like manner, saying of the two sons of
Abraham: "which things are an allegory: for these are the two cove
nants "; and going on to show that Hagar was Mount Sinai and Sarah
"Jerusalem, which is above". The Zohar denounces those who read the
sacred writings in their literal sense; .. \\' oe be to the man who says that the
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THEOSOPHY AND ITS EVIDENCES.
Doctrine delivers common stories and daily words. . Therefore we
must believe that every word of the Doctrine contains in it a loftier sense
and a higher meaning. The narratives of the Doctrine are its cloak. The
simple look only at the garment, that is, upon the narrative of the Doctrine;
more they know not. The instructed, however, see not merely the cloak,
but what the cloak covers."
The Essenes, we learn from Josephus, only admitted candidates
into their order after a prolonged probation, and then bound the
successful neophyte by "tremendous oaths" "that he would not
(among other things) "discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not
though anyone should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life".
Jesus is said to have reserved his special teaching for his chosen disciples:
"Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but
unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables". Paul,
who, using a well-known metaphor, calls himself a "a wise master bUilder",
says that he and his fellows II speak wisdom among them that are perfect ",
i.e., that are fully initiated, and describes this wisdom as II the wisdom of
God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom". Clemens Alexandrinus says
that II the mysteries of the faith are not to be divulged to all", and speakmg
of hiding "in a mystery the wisdom spoken, which the Son of God [the
Initiate] taught". Mme. Blavatsky says in II Isis Unveiled": II Among the
venerable sect of the Tana'im, or rather the Tananim, the wise men, there
were those who taught the secrets practically and initiated some disciples
into the grand and final mystery. But the Mishna Hagiga, 2nd section,
says that the table of contents of the Mercaha I must only be delivered to
wise old ones'. The Gemal'a is still more emphatic: I The more important
secrets of the Mysteries were not even revealed to all priests. Alone the
Initiates had them divulged."
It would be easy to multiply testimonies to the existence of this body
of doctrine, at least down to the fourth century A.D. The triumph of the
illiterate exoteric side of Christianity then swamped it, so far as Europe
was concerned, and we only catch glimpses of its continued transmission by
the occasional divulging of secrets of nature-" great discoveries "-by wise
and learned men who, by the ruthless persecution of the Churches, were
compelled to hide their lights carefully under bushels. But wherever in the
Middle Ages we hear of "alchemists", II magicians", " atheists", "learned
heretics", from whom impulses came towards rational learning, towards
the investigation of nature, we shall generally find, on investigation, that
they have some connexion with the East, whither had retreated for safety,
under the tolerant rule of Buddhism, the guardians of the Hidden Wisdom,
to be in security until the storm of Christian persecution had exhausted
itself by its own fury.
The knowledge of physical nature was indeed part of the instruction
received during preparation for the higher initiations. The wonderful
astronomical calculations of the Hindus, their zodiacs, their cycles, are
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LUCIFER.
matters of common knowledge. In the fifth degree of the Egyptian
neophyte, he was instructed in ehe,,,ia, chemistry, including alchemy; in the
sixth he was taught astronomy. The knowledge of Pythagoras on the
globular form of the earth and on the heliocentric system, was imparted to
him during his preparation for full initiation. So were the secrets of
alchemy to Democritus of Abdera. The extraordinary life of Apollonius
of Tyana-the Pagan Christ as he has been called-is familiar to all
students. He also passed through the discipline of the Mysteries, the
supposed II journey to India", related by Philostratus, being but an alle-
gorical account of the neophyte's experience as he treads II the Path ". As
" Master", he was at once teacher and healer, like others of the Brother-
hood, and it is curious to find Justin Martyr, in the second century, asking:
II How is it that the talismans of Apollonius have power in certain members
of creation? for they prevent, as we see, the fury of the waves, and the
violence of the winds, and the attacks of wild beasts; and whilst our Lord's
miracles are preserved by tradition alone, those of Apollonius are most
numerous, and actually manifested in present facts, so as to lead astray all
beholders" A strange testimony from an opponent, although A pollonius
worked no "miracles ", but only utilised purely natural powers, which he
understood, but which were unknown to the people around him. Is it
without significance that the disappearance of the Mysteries coincides with
the beginning of the intellectual darkness which spread over Europe and
deepened into the night of ignorance of the eighth, ninth, and tenth
centuries? Is there nothing strange in the contrast between the literary,
scientific, and philosophic eminence of Hindustan, Persia, Chaldea,
Egypt, Greece, and the arid waste of the early Middle Ages? The dead
letter triumphed over the living spirit; the crust of dogmatic religion
hardened over philosophy and science; the exoteric symbol took the place
of the esoteric truth; and the latter-though hidden unregarded as is its
image, the heart in the human body-the very Heart of civilisation and of
knowledge, whose unfelt beatings alone circulated the life-blood in the veins
of human society, that Heart was paralysed in Europe, and the paralysis
spread to every limb of the body politic and social. Yet from time to time
a throb was felt: Roger Bacon, the marvellous monk who mastered mathe-
matics and astounded Europe by his chemical discoveries, who made gun-
powder and predicted the use of steam as a motor, drew his knowledge
from his study of the ancients. Paracelsus came back from his captivity in
Tartary a learned physician and" magician ", curing, as at Nuremberg,
II incurable" cases of elephantiasis, laying in Europe the foundations of the
practical use of magnetism in curing disease, writing on medicine, botany,
anatomy, chemistry, astronomy, as well as on philosophical doctrines and
" magic". He was the "discoverer" in Europe of hydrogen, and it is
asserted that a knowledge of oxygen is also shewn in his writings. Van
Helmont, his follower and disciple, is described by Deleuze as creating
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THEOSOPHY AND ITS EVIDENCES.
"epochs in the histories of medicine and physiology"; and indeed from
Paracelsus came the great impulse that started medicine, chemistry and the
study of electricity and magnetism on the lines along which such triumphs
have been won in modern times. Closely interwoven with his wonderfully
suggestive theories on these sciences were his philosophic teachings, teach-
ings which are fundamentally identical with those of Theosophy. His
language and his terminology, adapted to the conditions of his times, may
often prove misleading and disconcerting j but if his ideas are studied, rather
than the dialect in which he clothes them, it will be found that he was in
possession of true knowledge and had been instructed by the wise, passing,
as Madame Blavatsky says, in "Isis Unveiled ", "through the true
initiation" .
It may be said the proofs of the existence of a great body of philo-
sophic and scientific doctrine in the past, demonstrate nothing as to its
existence in the present. That is so j but if it admittedly once existed; if
it was taught in schools held in temples and handed down for thousands of
years from generation to generation of hierophants j if glimpses of its
continued existence can be caught in Medireval Europe j is it likely, is it
reasonable to suppose, that it disappeared wholly in the course of a few
centuries after enduring through millenniums, that the long succession of
faithful men came suddenly to an end, leaving no inheritors, that the vast
mass of accumulated knowledge, so loyally guarded, so carefully cherished,
suddenly went down into nothingness, all the garnered experience of
humanity vanishing like the " baseless vision of a dream .. ?
It is this body of doctrine that we assert is in the hands of the Masters
of Wisdom, heirs of the great Hierophants of the Past, and that we allege.
is still to be reached by those who are strong enough to take on themselves
the old obligation of the Neophyte: To KNOW j TO DARE j TO WILL j
AND TO KEEP SILENT.
The study of comparative mythology has done much to prove the
assertion of the Theosophist, that the great world religions have, as basis,
the same occult truths. The Kosmic Trinity, the "Father-Mother-Son ",
with its correspondence, the human trinity, Atma-Buddhi-Manas, and its
reflection on the material plane-so brutalised in the comparatively modern
degradations of phallic worship-is the "Church's one foundation", by
whatever name the" Church" may be called. As Dr. Hartmann puts it :
" The doctrine of the Trinity is found in all the principal religious
systems: in the Christian religion, as Father, Son, and Spirit j
among the Hindus as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva; the Buddhists
[Vedantins, A.B.] call it Mulaprakriti, Prakriti, and Purush j the Persians
teach that Ormuzd produced light out of himself by the power of his word.
The Egyptians called the first cause Ammon, out of which all things were
created by the power of its own will. In Chinese, Kwan-shai-yin is the
universally manifested Word, coming from the un manifested Absolute by
the power of its own will, and being identical with the former. The Greeks
called it Zeus (Power), Minerva (Wisdom), and Apollo (Beauty). The
Germans, Wodan (the Supreme Cause), Thor (Power), and Freia (Beauty).
LUCIFER.
Jehovah and Allah are Trinities of Will, Knowledge, and Power; and
even the Materialist believes in Causation, Matter, and Energy ".
The subject is too familiar to be enlarged on; it is the stock in trade,
these myriad trinities, of every student of religions. Note further how
these trinities always spring from OSE, and mystically continue One.
The Persian Trinity has as its forerunner Boundless Time-and-space.
The Hindu are but aspects of the supreme Brahma. The Vedantin has
Parabrahm, the Absolute. whereof Mulaprakriti is as a veil. The Greeks
had Kronos, greater than Zeus. The trinity is ever the creative aspect
of the ONE. Even in Christianity. with its uncompromising anthropo-
morphism. the Son is "begotten" by. the Spirit "proceeds" from. the
" Father"; although outside time and space relations. there is yet a
gleam of the idea of the original undifferentiated One.
Again. in all religions " God" incarnates. Theosophy teaches of the
" Pilgrim" incarnating throughout countless cycles. the divine entity
which is the human Self learning its lessons of experience in the school of
the universe. This Self was the Khristos. crucified in matter. and by its
voluntary sacrifice redeeming the lower selves from animality, saving
such part of the personalities as could assimilate themselves to it. and
weaving these into its own immortality. In the Mysteries this pilgrimage
was dramatically shewn in the person of the neophyte passing his initiations.
until at last. stretched cruciform on ffoor or altar of stone, he lay as dead,
to rise as the Hierophant, the Sun-Initiate. the" risen Khristos ". or Christ.
In many a form this story has been related as religious dogma. but whether
Mithra, Krishna, Bacchus, Osiris. Christ, the varying name has been but
new label for old truth. Whom they ignorantly worship, him
declare we.
The symbols of the creeds are but esoteric glyphs. used in modern times
without understanding. The tau. or cross; the waters of baptism; the
ringed light round head of saint; the serpent, whether of light or darkness,
image of God or devil; the virgin Mother. clothed in the sun and the
moon about her feet; the archangels and angels; the recording angels and
the book of life. All. all. from the Hidden Wisdom of the Sacred College.
legible in their entirety only to the trained eye of the Seer.
Whence all this similarity if there be no identity of origin? When
the Theosophist finds the ancient symbols decorating the sacred places of
antagonising modern creeds. each claiming them as exclusively its own. is
it wonderful that he sees in all the creeds branches from a common stem.
and that stem the truths taught in the Mysteries, known to have been once
established and revered in all the countries now possessed by the rival
faiths?
The evidence by experiment is chiefly valuable to those who have
conducted or seen the experiments. but there is an accumulating mass of
this evidence available at second-hand to those who have no opportunity of
carrying out direct personal investigations. The power of conveying a
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THEOSOPHY AND ITS EVIDENCES.
thought from one brain to another at a distance, without any of the ordinary
means of communication j the obtaining of knowledge by clairvoyance or
clairaudience, which knowledge can afterwards be verified j the power of
making an object appear and disappear at will, so far as onlookers are
concerned j the power of projecting a simulacrum to a distance, being seen
and heard by persons there present, and bringing back information which
can subsequently be found to be correct j the power of moving articles
without contact j of rendering an object immovable j and so on, in well-
nigh endless variety. Then, more easily accessible than the above, are the
phenomena obtainable by the use of mesmerism and hypnotism, with the
separability of consciousness from brain-action, the immense stimulation
of mental faculties under conditions that would a p,iori negate any exercise
of them, the reducing of brain-activity correlated to the augmenting of
psychic activity. Experiments of this sort are useful as helping to establish
the independent existence of the Intellectual and Spiritual Self, as an
entity joined to, but not the mere outcome of, the physical body. They
are useful also as demonstrating that the consciousness of the individual is
far wider and fuller than the ordinary consciousness of every-day life, that
memory covers a far larger field than the remembered of our usual active
mind. But, above all, the result of pursuing this line of study, the con-
sideration of these obscure and little understood phenomena, will be a
growing desire to find some theory which will draw them into rational
relationship with the rest of a universe of law, which will correlate them,
and present them as the normal working of natural causes. This great
service to the intelligence is done by Theosophy, and, accepted only as a
working hypothesis, as a temporary guide in experimentation, it will be
found to speedily justify its hypothetical acceptance, and will be seen to be
verified by its alignment with facts.
The evidence from analogy needs, of course, to be worked out in detail,
step by step, and it is impossible to do more here than hint at the kind of
use to w ~ i h this tool may be put. Let us take as example (a) the seven-
fold planes of the universe, and (b) the doctrine of re-incarnation.
(a) In studying the material world of which we are a part, we find the
constant emergence of the number seven: split up a beam of white light,
and we find the seven colours of the spectrum j take the musical scale, and
we have seven distinct notes in progression, and then the octave j take the
periods of gestation, and we find them occupying set numbers of lunar months,
i.e., of multiples of seven j take fevers which run a definite course, and
we find that course to be a multiple of seven j crises of madness shew this
recurring seven j the moon marks its stages in sevens, and has served as
the basis for our seven-day week j and so I might go on, for a page or two.
All these sevenfold periods can scarcely be matters of mere chance, mere
coincidence j in a universe of law they are surely likely to be the outcome
of some deeply-seated principle in nature j reasoning by analogy, the seven-
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LUCIFER.
fold division is likely to exist in the universe as a whole, even as in its parts.
Beyond this, for the moment, we may not be able to go, for the bearing out
of the analogy by the observation of facts on the cosmic planes is work
beyond the faculties of the ordinary man as at present developed; it is
claimed that there are men so highly evolved that they can observe on the
higher planes as we on the lower, but we are not now concerned with
proofs that can only be obtained by years, nay by.lives, of patient endurance
and study.
(b) Once again, in studying the material world, we note the frequent
co-relation of the relatively permanent and the transitory. A tree will last
for a century, putting forth yearly its crop of leaves, leaves which wither as
the finger of autumn touches them; the leaves pass, but the tree endures.
So the fern stem or the bulb will send up year by year its seasonal growth
of frond or flowers; the seasonal growth perishes with the season, but the
plant dies not. Tree and plant live through their periods of manifestation,
giving birth to innumerable lives, the outcome of the central individual. So
is it, Theosophy teaches, with man. As an individual he endures through-
out his period of manifestation, putting forth the leaf-crop of innumerable
personalities, which die while he remains. But, it may be said, the leaves
perish: they do not revive when the breath of the spring-tide awakens
nature; they are rotting in the ground, and it is their successors, not they,
that cover the tree with its glory. So, in very truth, is it with the personali-
ties likewise; they perish, and for them there is no resurrection. But just
as the leaves, living their life through spring and summer and autumn,
gather from air and draw up from soil substances which they fashion into
materials for the growth of the parent-tree from which they spring; and
just as these elaborated materials are drawn from them by the parent, and
the virtue and the use of them are over ere they are cut off by the keen
knife of winter's frost: so does the personality gather knowledge and
experience from its contact with the world, and transmute these into forms
that can be drawn from it into the individual which endures; so that when
the knife of death severs it from the parent trunk, all that it has gathered of
true materials for the growth of the Ego shall have passed over into its
keeping, each life ere it perishes thus adding its quota of nutriment for the
Man who does not die.
In this fashion, did time and space permit, I might continue, gathering
hints of the unseen from the seen, catching whispers of the Eternal Mother,
musical with the truths hidden beneath her veil. But this paper is intended
to incite to study rather than to teach the student, to sy.ggest rather than to
convince, to win audience for Theosophy rather than to expound its
doctrines. Science tells us how a myriad cords may be stretched and
mute,' as a note of music comes pulsing through the empty air, making
motion where there was stillness, sound where silence reigned. Here and
there, as if in answer, from among the many silent past whom the music
swells unheeded, will sound out a note in harmony, in rhymth responsive to
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...
THEOSOPHY AND ITS EVIDENCES.
the master-tone. It comes from those few cords that have the same
vibration.frequency, and that are therefore set throbbing as the note peals
by them, and give it back in music deep and melodious as its own. That
all do not answer lies not in the fault of the note as struck, but in the
incapacity of the strings to vibrate in unison. And so among human souls
in every generation, many will remain dumb as the organ-note of Theosophy
thrills out into the silence, and for them it will die away unheeded into
empty air. But one, here and there, will feel the throb of the music, and
give back in clear full resonance the chanted tone. For such the note is
sounded, the call is given. Let those who can hear, respond.
ANNIE BESANT, F.T.S.
" So we inherit that sweet purity
For which we struggled, failed, and agonised
With widening retrospect that bred despair.
Rebellious flesh that would not be subdued,
A vicious parent shaming still its child,
Poor anxious penitence, is quick dissolved;
Its discords, quenched by meeting harmonies,
Die in the large and charitable air.
And all our rarer, better, truer self,
That sobbed religiously in yearning song,
That watched to ease the burthen of the world,
Laboriously tracing what must be,
And what may yet be better-saw within
A worthier image for the sanctuary,
And shaped it forth before the multitude
Divinely human, raising worship so
To higher reverence more mixed with love-
That better self shall live till human Time
Shall fold its eyelids, and the human sky
Be gathered like a scroll within the tomb
Unread for ever."
From" 0 may I join the choir invisible."
" A great idea is as an eagle'S egg,
Craves time for hatching; while the eagle sits
Feed her."
" If thou wilt call thy pictures eggs
I call the hatching, work. 'Tis God gives skill,
But not without men's hands: he could not make
Antonio Stradivari's violins
Without Antonio."
" Stradivarius." GEORGE ELIOT.
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LUCIFER.
Ibta Df Itt-birtb.
o

N this small volume Miss Arundale has made an important addition to
J!( the English literature of a subject which is attracting yearly more
attention and interest. The translation of Mr. Karl Heckel's treatise
is in itself good service; but it must be admitted that this part of the book,
valuable as it is from the historical and literary point of view, leaves much
to be desired, which the translator, in an interesting introductory essay,
and in notes, has done her best to supply. And this essay is itself
supplemented by a Preface by Mr. Sinnett, marked by his customary
lucidity and force.
If we accept the dictum that the essential nature or idea of anything
is only to be learned from its history-though, perhaps, the truth rather is
that the history can only be really understood from the idea-we must be
thankful for the historical sketch which occupies so much of the original
treatise. Mr. Heckel shows Lessing to have been not quite correct in his
assertion that the idea of re-birth presented itself with immediate
spontaneity to the consciousness of thinking man. But the development
of a doctrine is sufficient evidence of its germinal antecedence, nor is it
difficult to see the essential connection of the doctrine in question with
religious philosophy which has grasped the idea of the evolution of
the universal spirit in human consciousness. The possibility of this
evolution depending on renunciation of the Individual Will, neither the
persistence of the latter, nor even its tendency to any special mode of
manifestation, can be contingent on a duration not determined by itself.
Its organic conformations, that is to say its means of contact with the
environment or sphere of objectivity to which it tends, are subject to laws
and conditions of duration which are no measure of the subjective
tendency. The internal principle remaining the same, unaffected by the
external change, must be repeatedly urged to reconstruction; nor can any
supposition be more gratuitous and unscientific, than that, because the
universe is wide, there is no constancy of direction in the craving \\'ill.
The philosophy of Re-incarnation is entirely missed unless the spontaneity
of the action is understood. \Ve are not to suppose the soul-we use the
term provisionally-blown about from sphere to sphere of manifestation by
the action of a force other than its own, or generated (as its Karma is)
by itself. It is an enduring affinity with earth life, or with some special
feature in it, that is the operative cause of re-incarnation. And the idea
of re-birth here may be greatly disliked-as hy many it is-without that
fact affording any evidence of a true eradication of the attractive tendency.
Our self-consciousness is neither deep enough nor comprehensive enough for
any of us to be able to say that his specific Upadami.-his " clinging" to a
particular mode of existence-has passed away. Meanwhile we are apt to
mistake disgust-especially ethical disgust-of the world as we know it
for a complete failure of its power over us. The answer to those who
profess indisposition to be re-born here is simple :_U Very well, if
that indisposition is really as deep as you imagine it to be, you have
nothing to fear; for you alone are' the builder of the house', and can have
no embodiment in any sphere that is not cognate to your will. But do not
mistake a temporary disrelish or a partial satiety for extinction of the
nature which is the source of appetite." For what is true of the supreme
and final consummation of Moksha, is true also of every distinct stage of
spiritual evolution. As the great deliverance is liberation from all the
.. The Idea of Re-Birth." By Francesca Arundale. Including a Translation of an
Essay on Relncamation by Karl Heckel. With a Preface by A. P. Sinnett. London,
Kesan Paul, Trench, Triibner &: Co., 1890.
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THE IDEA OF RE-BIRTH.
49
1
attachments of desire which bind the soul to any external sphere in which
desire must seek its !'atisfaction, so is any promotion to other spheres
contingent on the extinction of those special forms of desire, of that
particular nature in us, which attracts us to this world as our appropriate
home and pasture. We have to understand the ground of Re-incarnation
in elective affinity. It is an application to psychical affairs of the general
law of attraction of like to like. The doctrine postulates that the cause of
all manifestation or ohjectivity is in the will. \Ve must here conceive will
far more deeply than as act or faculty of conscious volition. It is the
radical fact underlying all nature, universal and particular. Originally
behind nature, as being the creative urgency of spirit for self-representa-
tion, it enters into its own object thus constructed, working in that, and
seeking to display all which is still" potential in it by further objective
differentiation. It has two poles or modes of action, which may be
termed indifferently positive and negative, centrifugal and centripetal,
expansive and contractile. The life of anything is in the centrifugal force
of the will; its substance, stability, or self-assertion is in the centripetal.
The contention, or opposite tendencies, of these two forces are said by
Jacob Bohme to result in a third form or motion - a "whirling",
"anguish", or "wrath "-and it is our consciousness of this third form
which has been described as " the wrath of God" in us. But we have not
now to pursue these ultimate abstractions further, except to note in passing,
that deliverance from the" anguish" of the self-centred will is always by
the spring or emergence of a new form of the will, a will of liberation from
the "anguish" -a will to renounce or negate the first will. This renuncia-
tion is not, however, a return to pure subjectivity or spirit; it constitutes
another principle of the soul, whereby the will of the anguish, or first
principle, is appeased or quenched for consciousness, and upon the ground
of the dark centre of nature or the individual is established the divine
evolutionary freedom of the second principle, the "Logos" in God and
Man. It will, of course, be understood that temporal process and the
dynamics of Will are to be predicated 'only of manifestation; in the
eternal they are only logical moments, or principles of co-eternal sub-
sistence, prior or successive not in time but in order. But the self-
consciousness of phenomenal man belongs to the form of time, and it is
just this form of time which breaks up the integrity of consciousness, and
is an apparent separation of principles which are noumenally united.
The will of Egoity, given over to its inherent tendencies, would
develope these into all we can imagine of diabolical and infernal. But the
soul is partially and provisionally saved from this by participation of
external nature, as it would be saved altogether and perfectly by the
divine nature. Whether we conceive the origin of human individuality in
nature from the point of view of evolution or from that of devolution, as
nature come to conscious differentiation through organic forms, or as a
grosser embodiment taken on by imagination from a finer one, the result for
our purpose is the same, a new sensibility attaching the will to an external
sphere of influence. To be in any part of nature is to belong to it by
participation, and this participation is a modality of the will, which no
mere privation of a re-actionary basis can radically dissolve. Such a basis
or body is only an external means or connection; but the nature which has
been taken on by the will is not detached from it by any force alien to the
will itself-the deeper will of renunciation. Nor is that will of renunciation
exercisable in any condition of involuntary privation; it is only in the
presence of the object of desire that desire can be truly eradicated. There
is no conquest otherwise than through temptation. No one dies a natural
death to the world by undergoing the natural death of the body. Doubtless
there is a periodicity in the cravings of the acquired nature for objective
re-expression and satisfaction, analogous to that which we observe in our
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49
2 LUCIFER.
appetites here, and in our alternations of rest and waking, and we have
even statements measuring the durations of this periodicity in terms of our
own time. "'e need not lay stress on such calculations in ignorance of
their transcendental data; enough for the present if we can get a clear idea
of the application of some general principles to the question at issue. We
cannot, it is true, at all definitely trace the incarnating process; but then
neither do we even know how will-force is communicated to the muscular
apparatus in the simplest of our physical actions. \Ve can only make a
general appeal to the principle of the convertibility of forces, and to the
philosophy which sees in all forces the special forms of \\,ill in Nature.
And those who have made a study of occult phenomena will be at no loss
for facts illustrative of the formative power of will, when vehemently
urged, and projected through the medium of its natural form in the
imagination. Nor is it necessary to attribute to the incarnating will all the
work of organisation, which in the order of nature may very well be done
for it, up to the point at which it can attach itself to the plastic embryo of
the mere human animal, as its informing principle or soul. In short, if once
we see that the law of attraction requires the return of the soul to an
appropriate sphere, and weigh the reasons for considering the scene of its
past experience as such a sphere, we shall be little disposed to set up our
ignorance of processes as an objection. Probably no unprejudiced mind
will deny the application to the soul of a principle so universal as that of
attraction, and very little observation and reflection are needed to satisfy us
that the life of most of us here is generative or confirmatory of deeply-
seated affinities with the world in which our will is so active and our
consciousness is so immersed.
It may not have escaped notice, that sometimes in the foregoing
remarks the words "will" and "soul" are used indifferently.. Their
respective use, however, marks the distinction between very different
schools, each of which claims to be in accord with the conception of
Re-incarnation in the Buddhist philosophy. It seems we are to appro-
priate the term, Palingenesis, to the doctrine of which Schopenhauer is
the most distinguished \Vestern exponent, that of the persistence and
re-emergence of the individual will with its specific qualities and ten-
dencies, but not clothed with consciousness except in the incarnate state-
its" idea". Metempsychosis, on the other hand, associates consciousness
indissolubly with the individual will, and is the doctrine of the re-incarnat-
ing soul. The due discussion of this question would demand a volume of
metaphysics. Miss Arundale claims the authority of the Buddhist Church of
Ceylon for the persistence of consciousness, through a "clinging" (Upadti.nti.)
to the Skandhas, or "attributes sensible and intellectual". It is hardly
worth while raising the question whether the authority she cites, following
Mr. Sinnett, quite bears out this contention. There is not, in Buddhism,
any more than in Christianity, a consensus of orthodox opinion on meta-
physical doctrines. Northern and Southern Buddhism represent widely
divergent tendencies of thought, the forme, being generally more favourable
than the latter to the recognition of transcendental consciousness. The
attempt to extract definite order and meaning from the statement to which
we most naturally turn for authoritative information-the Buddhist" chain
of causation" from birth to birth-is nearly madqening; and we can here
only suggest a single consideration of abstract metaphysics as applicable to
the solution of the problem. The individual process is the cosmic process
writ small. The return of the will upon itself is not the negation of
consciousness but the true finding of itself in consciousness.
The going forth of the will, its centrifugal tendencl' waits ever
on the centripetal moment for the sensibility of itsel. The life of
consciousness is the life of creative energy which has reached a term, and
re-acts upon itself. In an infinite expansion there would be no self-con-
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THE IDEA OF RE-BIRTH.
493
sciousness. \Ve may be philosophically certain that the coming of Nature
to consciousness in her higher organisms denotes the upward or return
movement of her cycle. In the microcosmic representation of that cycle in
individual man, we have consciousness, indeed, in the centrifugal movement,
but that is because the individual centrifugal movement has found its
term in the developed organism which is subject to the predominant
centripetal movement of the nature to which that organic expression
belongs. But when the individual will in its cycle has reached the
temporal term of its out-put and its proper centripetal tendency draws
it back upon itself, this compression or reaction is much more distinc-
tively self-consciousness than that which was struck out in the course
of organic activity. For as in the predominantly centripetal movement
in the cosmic cycle the self-consciousness of nature is the harvest of the
centrifugal seed and growth-time, but retains only the pure resultant
of her unconscious history, analogy dictates a similar conclusion
in the case of the individual. Clarified from the accidental ingredients
of objective life, there remains only the consciousness of appropriation,
of an added nature of the self. But that the psychical elimination
of what is non-essential is not immediately consequent on the physical
catastrophe of death, will be easily understood. The objective
memories, for instance, will endure as long as the interest of the will, not
now fed by contact, retains its grasp upon them. The growth of a pure
self-consciousness, only possible by removal of all that distracts it, is a
psychical process of digestion and excretion, and is probably of very different
duration-as we measure time-in different cases. Its completion would be
a knowledge of the real affinities of the will, and therefore we need not
suppose re-incarnation to be a blind tendency of a will unconsciously
motived. It is, on the contrary, conceivable even as a deliberate act of self-
prescription, or at least as willing assent of the soul to the necessities of its
Karma. Readers of Du Prel's " Philosophy of Mysticism" may remember
with what ingenuity, and support from analogies of somnambulism, that view
is there presented.
But from such considerations we must turn to a view-so far but
slightly indicated-of the relation of our subject to the only interest of man
which is entitled to be called religious, the evolution in him of a conscious-
ness and will progressively more approximate to the divine foundation of
his being. And in the attempt to reach a partially definite conception of
this evolution, it will be impossible to avoid encountering the question of
what is meant by " freedom" in any evolutionary process, of the sense in
which any will can be said to be "free", when we are regarding the
emergence in consciousness of principles reconstructive of its character.
Upon this question the present writer appears to be at variance with lead-
ing exponents of the philosophy of spiritual evolution in the Theosophical
Society. But in this controversy it often turns out that variance is rather
apparent than real. And at any rate the subject has an inexhaustible
interest for every metaphysical mind.
The ideal of religion is freedom of divine manifestation. Not only
Christianity, but every religion worthy of the name, teaches the ideal
identification of man with a principle, or, as it is sometimes expressed, a
" spark", or " seed", of divinity in him; and for Christians, at least, that
divinity is definable as the" will of God", the will which is not individually
self-regarding, but which operates spontaneously from the principle of
universal love, and in the form of universal wisdom. But whether we speak
of the actual-or, if anyone prefers, the apparent-condition of man and
nature as a "fall ", or as immersion in Maya or a cosmic fiction, the
problem of religion is equally the ext,icatioll of a true consciousness from the
false consciousness which has been super-induced. This extrication is its
freedom of manifestation. Now that is a question of consciousness; not of
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494
LUCIFER.
the speculative consciousness, reversing in moments of philosophic thought
the vulgar conceptions of reality, but of the consciousness which springs
spontaneously from the spiritual life, as a: natural and unobstructed expres
sion of the divine will. The spontaneity of any consciousness whatever
depends upon a naturing or substancing of the will, an organic facility of
its expression conceivable as a texture of ideal lines of least resistance.
Organism in its perfection enables will to act automatically, and whenever
we find will consciously active with a sense of effort, it is about some pur-
pose or expression which its psychical organism does not sufficiently serve.
\Vhen this first process has been facilitated by frequent use, it results in
the marking out of fresh organic lines along which will can in future pass
without labour. All habit is establishment of such invisible, or ideal lines
of direction. And this system of lines of least resistance, is the real truth of
substance. "All will ", says Bohme, " brings itself into a substance" for the
manifestation it necessarily desires. In material nature it is the same,
nothing being ultimately discoverable as " matter", so far as we can distin-
guish that at all from force, than just those constant directions of force, which
are its "laws". As the physical forces are to the will (of which they are
the elementary aspect or equivalent), so is "matter" to the substance of
the will. Thus the medium of force, whether physical, or the will-force we
call spiritual, is just the line which force has originally beaten down for
itself, the path itself has made; so that speaking as at present, psychically,
whether we use the term substance, or organism, or habit, we mean the
same thing, the objectification or manifestation of the will in man. That is
its freedom, and any state of will is free in man when it is "born" in himas a
nature, that is, when it has worked out for itself this organic facility of mani-
festation, of which corporeity is the ultimate expression. The lower princi-
ples of man are already in this freedom, but the divine principle and its \'Irill
are not free in him, not being born or" natured ", but only conceived; even
this conception, therefore, being for us only a truthoffaith, but not oftheknow-
ledge of consciousness. It is this faith upon which religion insists, when she
urges self-identification with this ungrown germ; and nothing can be more
palpably and perversely inconsistent with this self-identification 'with a
principle whose will is thus confessedly shut up in the constraint of germi-
nal subjectivity, than the dogma of a freedom only applicable to the con-
summation of the human process. If the doctrine of spiritual regeneration
had not become a mere figure of speech in the Church, there would never
have been substituted for the great natural truth of evolution a tenet which
obscures the whole problem of religion, The false thesis has consequently
been met by the equally false antithesis which makes phenomenal necessity
a sufficient account of the whole matter. According to this view, the per-
sonal character is a fixed and final quantity, so that, if it were also a known
quantity, the individual reaction on any stimulus of circumstances, in other
words, the whole conduct, could be predicted with certainty as circumstances
arose. Nor could we object to this conclusion, if we admitted its premise.
But with an evolutionary will behind the established character, a will whose
first act of manifestation is a denial of the will of that chlrt"acter, the whole
reasoning is upset, but certainly not in the interest of an undetermined
liberty of choice. Such a "freedom of indifference", as it has been well
called, a power of choice by a mere abstract faculty of will without any
definite quality to determine its attraction-and that in the empirical order
wherein no "cause" can be original-is now in course of abandonment by
most metaphysical thinkers. Moreover, even if conceivable, conduct so
determined would still have no more ethical significance than conduct deter-
mined by tossing up a halfpenny. Every determination is from a principle,
every will is the will of a principle. The will of man has no unity as a
faculty, except in the moment of exercise, and then its action testifies to the
prevalence for the n:cmcnt, according to its character, of one or another
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THE IDEA OF RE-BIRTH.
495
principle in his composite consciousness and nature. If man were a single
principled being, with consequently a single will, that will would be perfectly
subjectively, for there would be in him no contrariety of tendency, no
Inner obstruction to spontaneous self-expression, or uttering (outering). He
be free by the very necessity of his simple nature. That is the case
wlth the lower animals, who experience no subjective constraint, and with
whom necessity and freedom are the same. But constituted as we are,
there is a strife of distinct principles and therefore of distinct wills.
But it is supposed ,that man has a will other than the wills of his
constitutive principles, a will which, belonging to neither of them, is yet
elective between them, and that herein consists his "freedom". -This
illusion is simply due to the inconstant prevalence of one or other of the
principles, and to the necessary self-identification for the moment with the
one which is for t.he moment in power. If it should be suggested that this
very inconstancy of dominion as between the constitutive principles is itself
an argument for all arbitrary election between them, the answer is to be
found in the exceelling subtlety and changeability of the ideal ingredients
of consciousness, as modified by the circumstances of each occasion of
determination. These, or a resultant of these, combine more readily now
with one, now with another, of the conflicting wills, and in that combination
form the" motive" of the eventual determination. Then, again, it may be
urged, that as we must conceive a human being as in some sense a unity,
at least as the synthesis of his component principles, it is proper that there
should be a unitary will, and that this must be judicial and decisive,
whereas the wills of the principles are spontaneous. Here will is conceived
merely as volition, as ill actu, without a basis or a principle. What is
contemplated is simply the resultant determination already sufficiently
explained by what we discover in analysis, and this resultant is converted
into a cause and regarded as the uncaused will of the individual. As
already said, such a will could have no moral quality, no quality at all,
because ex hypothesi it is not a principle of determination, but a pure arbitrium.
It does not save human responsibility, for it is itself beyond all appeal.
Immediately you bring ethical language to bear upon it, the fallacy is
exposed, for any moral predicate at once converts it from the hypothetical
liberty of choice into a real prillciple of choice, a state of the individual,
whereby he tends to self-identification with one or other of the
conflicting principles of his constitution. Such a state is at once seen
to be already a determination of the Ego of consciousness, not a deter-
mination of itself by itself, but a modification which could only originate
from a deeper level. Only by abandoning the stratification of principles in a
vertical order, and the restriction of the term" Ego" to consciousness at
any given stage of development, can we make the will of the Ego the
agent in evolution; and even then it would express the very reverse of a
free election between opposite determinations, as it would be identical with
the evolutionary energy itself of the deeper principle which it raises to
consciousness. And we drop the idea of evolution altogether, if we
attribute temporal freedom to a will which could thus dispense with
process. But a freedom of manifestation the attainment of which is the
very end and explanation of the life-process is not an actual freedom
within it. Perfect man is free, but imperfect man is man in the making.
In this process, the self of consciousness is not the principle seeking
realization, but as yet unrealized, in consciousness; and therefore it
is that the evolution of that principle appears at first as alien, as a law to the
conscious self, and determination in accordance with that law to be an act of
voluntary obedience. But every such determination is in fact a moment of
evolutionary force or power, and in the very act of determination the
higher principle establishes itself, so far, as the self of consciousness; and
thus it is that determiI1ation in accordance with reason and the moral law,
against the tendencies of the apparent self which is thus
Di "'lOO
LUCIFER.
invaded from within, is recognisable as self-identification v.ith the universal
principle to which reason and the moral law are referable. The perfect,
unhindered, spontaneity of that principle in us would be our complete
at-one-ment v.ith it. Only the Universal \Vill in us, as the deepest and
inmost ground of our being, can make intelligible those early forms of
our consciousness of it, which appear as Conscience and the sense of
moral Obligation. And as we can will nothing except in the degree in
which the principle of a will is active in us (however deficient our formal
consciousness of it may be), it follows that our" Freedom ", which is but
another word for our Atonement-our freedom, in the sense of unobstructed
manifestation of our divine original or ground, is of pogrtss;(I( attainment, and
demands conditions impossibly comprised in any experience limited by
external causes.
"The idel.l of Re-birth " has thus two pillars which sustain and necessi-
tate it: the spontaneolls tendency of the will to any sphere of manifestation
in which it may be found (" Where the treasure is there v.ill the heart be
also "), and the use of such sphere in furthering the evolution whereby any
state of the will is discovered to be non-essential and surmountable. The
explanation of this use is nearly obvious. The true self of us all, the
Universal \Vill or Principle in us, cannot attain realisation-its" freedom "-
in consciousness, until the contingency, the non-reality of the individual
perversion, which meanwhile passes for the self, is known. But this non-
reality is not given in the mere consciousness of it as defect or fault. On
the contrary, this moral consciousness is just the illusion which makes a
reality of sin, and of the self of sin. Just as little, however, or rather far
more dangerously less, is the non-reality of the sinful self given in an intel-
lectual apprehension, like the present, which enables us to assert this non-
reality as a proposition. A thousand times preferable is the naivest accept-
ance of sin as real by a Methodist preacher or a captain in the Salvation Army,
to a philosophy which mistakes a truth of the intellect for an exoneration of
the will. For only in the affirmation of the will lies the verification of the
intellect. Only then is sin unreal to me when I have proved its unreality
by an act of freedom from it. And therefore is the stage of action so indis-
pensable to the evolution which discovers truth behind illusion, and being
behind appearance. Thus it is that the very desire of the will, drawing it
back to the sphere which engendered it, offers again and again opportunity
to the will of renunciation. Nor is that all. The mere self-consciousness
of a subjective state can never attain the intensity of self-judgment which is
only possible when the will in action has flung out a representation of itself,
and when the individual is confronted with the out-birth of his nature. The
agent in this judgment is always, though under many disguises, a deeper
being in him which has hitherto seemed mere inactive participation in the
moral development of his environment, but which he now appropriates as
his own principle in energy. The incarnation on which, for its own gratifi-
cation, the proximate will insisted, has exposed it to the influence of what-
ever in the environment is adapted to kindle a force at variance with it.
Ever watchful for its opportunity of emergence, the deeper will to deny the
will most proximate to consciousness is stimulated to equality of develop-
ment with the higher levels of moral attainment in the world. The uncon-
scious tendency of all moral development is to the ultimate ideal of
universalisation of the will which is proclaimed by all great religious
teachers, but which, by a necessary process of accommodation, soon sinks
to the conception of a rule or standard of conduct, though as a revelation it
always remains at hand for progressively practical assertion. Now it is
evident that on the one hand the attraction of any world for the incarnating
will, and, on the other hand, its use in bringing to energy and conscious-
ness a deeper will in denial of the first, depend on its being neither too
~ o o for the one purpose, nor too bad for the other. I am here equally
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THE IDEA OF RE-BIRTH.
+97
because I like it-(however my superficial self-consciousness may think
the contrary)-and because it is good for me to be here. There is, indeed,
the third, and relatively very rare case, in which the completely liberated
will, manifesting as a Buddha or a Christ, incarnates to raise the spiritual
level of a world, by re-publishing and re-exemplifying the ideal end of
existence. " Salvation in the Church" means nothing more than exposure
to the rays of this communicated influence, in asocial environment which
has appropriated it most distinctly and immediately, and which has provided
the representations of it best adapted to elicit recognition and excite
aspiration-an efficacy not to be denied to external ritual, symbolism, and
religious art .
In re-actions against externality, in all iconoclasm, whether its hostility
is directed to images or concepts of the mind, or to material embodiments
of an idea, there lurks a fallacy of spiritual independence in a sense
contradicted by all analogies of growth in nature. Sun, moisture, soil, are
all external to the acorn, but it would remain an acorn for ever if it could
turn from them with vain imaginings of its arborific potentialities. And so
a dormant spirituality needs for its excitation a cognate principle in energy.
And when, for instance, we are told, as so often now, that the whole truth
of Christianity is the Christ in ourselves, we are constrained to add,
borrowing the form of a famous supplement to another proposition, "except
Christianity itself". The Christ in ourselves would have no chance of
emergence but for the revelation which became a vitalising power from
without, a revelation given to the world, says the Bhagavad-Ghita, as often
as its spiritual level falls below what may be assumed to be the lowest
average required for the uses of incarnation.
The world regarded in this two-fold aspect, as a sphere the most
attractive to the wills of its inhabitants, and as a school most appropriate
for the negation of those very wills which brought them, for the most part,
to it, is thus seen with moral certainty to be the necessary theatre of
individual life till its attraction is exhausted by accomplishment of its
disciplinary purpose. Nothing, if we consider it, can be more beautiful
than the economy of this arrangement, whereby the very spontaneity of the
egotistic will provides the conditions of renunciation and exaltation.
The doctrine of Re-birth is therefore a necessary consequence in every
religion which teaches the liberation of the Will from the bonds of
individuality, as the ideal end of human existence. That this ideal is that
set up by Christ and by his great successor, St. Paul, and is circumstantially
typified in the whole career of the former, there can be no possible doubt.
On the other hand, there can be no more certain proof of the early
obscuration of this ideal in the history of the Christian Church, than its
explicit repudiation of a conception so indispensably consequent. The
single human life could only be conceived as eternally critical upon
dogmatic suppositions, which had grown up in substitution of the pure and
original revelation. A Theosophist of the Eastern school might say that
Christianity lapsed from the dignity of a religion when it mistook Devachan
for Nirvana, exalting and eternal ising the spiritual result of one objective
life-time. That this mistake is largely responsible for various perversions
of the Christian revelation, besides necessitating a total misrepresentation
of human freedom, there can be little doubt. The spiritual situation had to
be logically saved, on the one hand by a revival ofthe false idea of sacrifice as
substitutionary instead of as typical or representative, and on the other hand,
by postulating a freedom of evolution, instead of the evolution of freedom.
The doctrine of Re-incarnation in itself belongs, it is true, in the first
instance, rather to psychology-in the most comprehensive sense of the
term-than to religion, for the latter is more concerned with the ideal to be
attained than with questions of time and opportunity. Nor would the
supreme interest of religion lose by exaggerating the importance of a single
Digitized by Coogle
LUCIFER.
moment of experience, or by the "foreshortening" of spiritual processes
wnich is so characteristic of its statements, were it not for the reaction of
despair inevitably ensuing from comparison of the magnitude of the demand
with the unequal powers of response in unequal stages of development.
From this embarrassment sprang a whole doctrinal system intended to
obviate it, but offering new difficulties to advancing intelligence. These
conceptions were like the cycles and epicycles by which it was attempted to
torture geocentric astronomy into conformity with nature. Evolution
through re-incarnation was a factor indispensable to solution of the spiritual
problem; in its absence the consummation must be per saltum. Now though
it is quite true that an evolutionary process may be accelerated by suitable
agencies-and this may as well happen in the soul of man as in the plant
which springs into abnormal growth by the application of Akasa-an
equality of germinal capacity, at least, must be presupposed, if the special
agency is to be equally available for every individual in a single life-time.
Such equal capacity would he equal proximity of the spiritual principle to
the consciousness of each and all, so that equally favourable conditions of
growth-the same environment-would be equally efficacious in each and
all. But this supposition is altogether rebutted by our experience of man
kind. Moreover, due exposure to the quickening agency is itself a question
of environment, and here, too, we find the same or even greater inequality.
In the foregoing attempt to represent the most abstract grounds of
the belief in ke-incarnation, and of the connection of that belief with
Religion, the writer has advisedly abstained from associating it especially
with any particular system which happens to have developed the idea in its
own way. In his opinion, however consequent such developments may be,
they rather confuse than elucidate the conception on a first presentation, to
say nothing of the necessary limits of a paper like the present. Nothing,
for instance, beyond the barest allusion, has been said of the great law, or
force, of Karma, at least under that name, or by way of distinct recognition.
In what has been said here, the force of specific attraction, conditioning the
individual at re-birth, has been seated rather in the acquired constitution of
the will, than in any" action" in the objective sense. And Karma as the
operative cause of Re-birth has again to be distinguished from the other side
of the conception, or perhaps rather its development, which contemplates it
as a law of moral equivalence or requital, and asserts a self.acting efficacy
of the moral law, in exact correspondence to that which obtains in relation
to physical laws and man's observance or neglect of them. A great and
characteristic interest of the idea of Karma is its realisation of spiritual
force as an agency not less operati ve in the dispensation of human
circumstances, than is physical force in physical relations. It introduces
science into the moral order,' with as much confidence, and with as little
dependence on any special interposition of what is understood in
the \Vest by Providential Government, as is conceded among ourselves
to physical order. It is a magnificent generalisation, and undoubtedly
completes the logic of Re-birth. But in its aspect as the operative cause of
Rebirth the force of Karma has perhaps been recognisably included in what
has been said. in this paper of the attractive affinities engendered in the will.
The absence of any express reference to objections commonly urged
against Re-incarnation may seem to some a more important omission.
These objections are well brought together, and severally answered, by Miss
Arundale in her excellent essay, which, with her translation of Mr. Heckel's
treatise, forms perhaps one of the best introductions to the suhject in English
literature at present. But it has been thought better to confine this paper
to such a presentation of several positive grounds for the belief, as in itself
contains the reply to some objections due largely to misconception. The
most popular and frequent objection-the want of memory of former lives-
is, as usual, that which least survives adequate reflection. For it takes no
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THE IDEA OF RE-BIRTH.
499
account of the sifting of consciousness, or of the uses of experience. That
which is most transient, phenomenal and external, is regarded as the most
real, and as bound up indissolubly with the very identity of the individual.
It is not considered that memory, even within one organic condition, offers
only a minute residue of all that has passed through consciousness since
infancy, that withdrawal from direct contact with an environment must
mean gradual effacement of all which the interest of the will has not most
intimately appropriated, and that even of what adheres, the spirit rather
than the form will ultimately remain. It is just this extract of the essen-
tial from the accidental that marks the transition from the consciousness of
a personality which is the mere centre of circumstances, to that of a relatively
abiding individuality, storing the harvests of its successive seasons. The
events and external relations of earthly life are but the husks of the grain;
they have no longer an interest for the will, and therefore no longer a place
in the memory, when the grain is extracted. They have already gone from
memory before the- conditions of re-birth are fulfilled; but even were it
otherwise, the totally new interests and circumstances of a new incarnate
existence would offer no definite link of association for recognisable repro-
. duction of impressions belonging to an entirely different context of experience.
Nor is the objection from the facts of heredity at all more formidable.
The deeply-seated difference in the characteristics of many, perhaps most,
children of the same parents is a fact more worthy of attention in relation to
this question, than are the inherited traits. The believer in Re-incarnation
is not concerned to deny heredity, because none of its observed facts pene-
trate so deeply into the structure of character, as to afford any valid pre-
sumption that the whole individual differentiation can thus be accounted
for. No one but a materialist can assert that the supposition of physical
propagation of a complete human being is less hypothetical than our view.
The properties of any matrix must modify the resultant product in its own
order. The plant is not unaffected by the quality of the soil in which its
seed was sown, and the influence will be naturally more observable as the
organic scale is ascended. Every ground or matrix is a basis of reaction,
and the more the basis is differentiated, the more distinctly apparent will
be the effect of its reaction. Nor can any idea be more cognate to a spiritual
philosophy, than that which regards the joint product of the male and
female principles of a lower order-and in their junction at the physical
extremity only the physical or animal principles of the parents can be con-
sidered-as itself the matrix of the formative principle of a higher order.
In answering other objections, Miss Arundale has found occasion for
vindicating "the Idea of Re-birth" in some of its broader features. She
has done this so admirably, and also so succinctly, as to add much to the
value of the volume she has given to the public. Mr. Heckel's essay, well
rendered into English, gains much by association with the expositions of
the translator and of Mr. Sinnett, and perhaps a recommendation of the
book is hardly necessary to readers of Lucife,. Now and then a statement
occurs in a form which seems to the present writer open to objection, as
when" the Ego" is spoken of (p. 70) as standing with a power of choice
between the influences of the principles above and below it. Enough has
been said above to indicate the point of disagreement here, which certainly
cannot be dismissed as an unimportant detail, as nothing has been more
influential in postponing recognition of the great truth of spiritual evolution
than the doctrine of an arbitrary freedom.
In conclusion it may be said that no one who, from an independent
standpoint, has come to a just conception of the general grounds of belief in
Re-incarnation, can fail to see the importance of studying the question in
connection with the great religious philosophy of which it is a vital tenet.
And to such a study, perhaps, no better introduction, in a small compass,
can be found than the volume which has given occasion to this article.
C.C.M.
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LUCIFER.
ijtbt ~ o l t n ctbain of ljonttntS.
THAT IS
A DESCRIPTION OF NATURE AND NATURAL THINGS.
How and from what they are generated and how they are destroyed again, and
what that Subject is which generates, destroys, and regenerates things.
Franck/urt anti Lep;ic, li23.
Translated from the German by SIGISllt:lW BACSTROlI, }I.D., 1797.
Revised from the unpublished }ISS. hy THO:\U.S HENRY P.HTINSON, F.T.S.
OF THE GENERATION OF THINGS.
CHAPTER I.
What Nature is.
Nature comprehends the invisible and visible creatures of the whole
universe. \IVhat we call nature especially is the universal Fire or ANIMA
MUNDI, filling the whole system of the universe; and therefore it is a
universal agent, omnipresent and endowed with an unerring instinct,
which manifests itself in Fire and Light. It is the first creature of Divine
omnipotence.
Anima Mundi as used here does not mean animal life-principle,
manifested or otherwise; but the cause of what we understand as the
universal life principle.
CHAPTER II.
How all tllings proceed therefroln.
Thus God created first the invisible Fire and endowed it with unerring
instinct and a capacity to manifest itself in three principles.
I. In its original most universal state it is perfectly invisible,
immaterial, cold, and occupies no space; in this tranquil state it is of no
use to us, yet in this unmoved state it is omnipresent.
2. In its second state it is manifested by motion or agitation into
Light. In this state it was separated out of Chaos, when God said,
"Let there be Light, and there was Light ". Yet it is still Cold. When
gently moved and agitated it manifests Warmth and Heat, as is the case in
all frictions, and in fermentations of moist things.
3. When collected in a sufficient quantity and violently agitated it is
manifested as a burning Fire. This continues burning as long as it is
agitated, and has a fit subject to act upon. When that fails it returns to
its first state of tranquil universality. In the character of Burning Fire it
manifests Heat and Light.
Thus we say in its primary universal state it is perfectly invisible and
immaterial.
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THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF HOMER US.
5
01
In its second state of manifestation it is visible as Light.
In its third state of Heat and burning Fire it is visible, hot or
burning, and becomes somewhat material; as it occupies room or space
whilst in this state ..
You have now seen 3 distinct powers of the Universal Spirit. But it
possesses still more, and even some inconceivable powers.
We have told you the Universal Spirit is endowed with an unerring
instinct. Working by the most simple and nearest way, it has also, besides
its already mentioned conspicuous qualities, 2 occult powers, viz.,
attraction and repulsion, and these two powers are inconceivably great.
We see various instances of it in Thunder and Lightning, in
Earthquakes, Hurricanes and in the surprising effects of gunpowder.
When God created this universal Fire he gave it a power to become
material, that is to become Vapour, Humidity, Water and Earth,
although that fire in its own universal nature is and remains centrally the
same. Thus you see the beginning of the 4 Elements. Burning Fire,
Vapour and Humidity, mixed with cold Fire, constitutes atmospheric Air,
which still more condensed becomes Water, and Water becomes Earth.
Originally it was but one element, Fire.
This universal Fire becomes a vapour of immense extent, which by
further inspissation becomes chaotic Water, and out of this Water the
Creator separated the Light, that is separated (01' sub-divided) the universal
invisible Fire into Light. Thus we see that invisible Fire manifested in two
principles-Light and Humidity. Therefore out of Light and (chaotic) Water
God has created all things.
Water was the first condensation of the universal Fire, which never-
theless in its centre was and remains Fi1'e, full of life and activity, and the
more so as it was assisted (01' equilibrated) by its equal the Light, separated
out of it as much as was necessary for the creation of all immaterial and
material Beings, and in succession of time, for their maintenance.
Of the separated Light we have spoken before.
We have now to consider its first Body, Humidity. Water differs in
regard to its Density (or sub-division) ; if rarefied to a certain degree it consti-
tutes Air, that is a predominance of Fire above Water. But if condensed to
a certain degree it becomes Humid \Vater, or Humidity predominating
over Fire; nevertheless in Both lies concealed the universal Fire or Spirit of
the universe.
As soon as the Air gets deprived of this universal Fire, which animates
it and renders it elastic, it becomes immediately putrid, and thereby declines
(precipitates), becomes Humidity, Earth and Solid. It is the same case with
Water, when deprived of Fire or of animated Air, it becomes putrid and
condenses still further and becomes Earth.
God has ordained it so that the Universal Spirit, by means of Humidity
should work all things, because Humidity mixes easily with everything, by
means of which the Spirit can soften, penetrate, generate, destroy and re-
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LUCIFER.
generate all things. This Humidity or Water is the Body, the vehicle.
But the Spirit or Fire is the operator, the universal agent, the Ani",.
Spiritus MI.ndi-the all-working spirit and power of God; the universal
Germ, the genuine agent, the only agent and fabricator of all natural things.
The universal Fire fills that immense space of the universe between the
Heavenly bodies, and as it has a power to become material, it generates a
subtle vapour or invisible Humidity, its first passive principle. It causes
therein a gentle reaction, and a most subtle fermentation takes place uni-
versally, and by this reaction the universal acid is everywhere generated,
which we can call nothing else than a most subtle incorporeal Nitre; it is
inwardly fire and outwardly cold.
Thus this spiritual Nitre or universal Acid we call the second invisible
change of the universal Fire generated out of chaotic invisible Humidity; and
as this approaches the atmosphere of the Heavenly Bodies it b e c o m e ~
gradually more and more material, until it meet an alkaline passive princi-
ple whe'rein it fixes itself and forms native Nitre, so that from universal
spiritual Nitre it becomes material Nitre.
Thus we say not without good reason that the Solar Rays of light are
nothing else than a most subtle spiritual Nitre which gradually becomes
more and more nitrous as it approaches the Earth, but Sea Salt in the
ocean, animating the atmosphere with fire or life, and thereby giving
elasticity to the air and life and preservation to the water.
~ e see between the Firmament and our Earth continual Vapour,
Clouds, and Fogs, which ascend like a transpiration of the Earth; and are
sublimed upwards by the central heat of the Earth.
This chaotic Water and Vapour, contain.and are the first matter of all
things, and although this appears very simple before our eyes, yet it is two-
fold, as it contains Fire and Hltmidity. The invisible in the visible-the
Fire or spirit is the agent and the \Vater the mother or parent.
Whosoever wishes to arrive at the fountain of Secret Wisdom, let him
study this well and let him go with the central point of truth to the circum-
ference, and for ever imprint on his memory, that from Fire and Water,
or Spirit enclosed in Humidity, all things in the world are generated,
preserved, destroyed, and regenerated.
\.vhoever comprehends this will find no ?ifficulty in analysing natural
things. He may easily volatilize the fixed-and fix the volatile: a putrid
subject he may convert into a pleasant smelling one; out of poison he
may make a salutary medicine, because he knows that all things proceed
from one root, and return to that root. The distinction is external,
and regards only the modification of the matter, which is more or less
digested or fixed. Therefore the philosophers say that thei, mattn- is in all
things. Yet they select subjects wherein the universal spirit is more
abundantly contained, and more concentrated and thus easier to be obtained.
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THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF HOMER US.
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3
THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF HOMER US.
Volatile Spirit of
EARTH incorporeal.
EARTHY acid spirit
corporeal.
Fixed EARTHY Spirit-
ual Alkali corporeal.
Primary substance
of all Bodies.
Regnum Animale.
Regnum Vegetabile
sive Acidum.
Regnum Minerale.
Pure concentrated
Fixed EARTHY
tincture, Extractum
chaoticum.
o

(ill)
e

e



P,n,e! ,oncont,at,d 9
universal Quintessence.
CHAOS CONFUSION.
Spiritual incorporeal Nitre containing the
uniyersal Fire without a Basis or
alkaline Body.
Nitre, or corporified Spiritus Mundi in
earth.
Nature, Male.
Sea salt or corporified Spiritus Mundi in
\Vater and salt. Nature, Female.
Nitre and salt united.
The most volatile.
Between Volatile and Fixed. The
mediator.
Fixed. The volatile spirit is here
downwards.
The unfermented tincture. .
Fermented and specified with Gold or Sun.
Lapis philosophorum.
EXPLANATION OF THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF HOMERUS.
o Me< th, ,hao, i, divided, a Vola til, Fi" i, repmt,d.
zedb Go
LUCIFER.
This is named spiritus mundi. Dew, Hail, Rain, Snow, and all
that which comes from the atmosphere are its faithful com-
panions.
Here is hidden the volatile essence of the \Vorld from the upper
regions, when it descends into the lower; out of which it takes
a body and appears visible and palpable before the eyes.
Nitre is known to the whole world, but where is he that can
enumerate all its virtues? There is that in Nitre which can
fabricate all things.
The lower regions are subject to it.
The upper regions cannot be without it.
Nitre is the Father of all things in nature. It causes the Founda-
tion of the Earth to tremble.
Its power has been given to it by the Creator.
Its dominions are over the skies, the earth, and the sea.
It is the ADAM of all things, out of which the EVE originates.
The end will be obtained when the earth has been fertilised;
when Adam has been fixed, and does no longer fulminate, and
when Eve sits by his side.
Sun and moon, the motion of the Earth, and the ocean moving,
continually convert Adam and Eve.
Through heat and cold, and the tides of the sea, the earth resus-
. citates that which is rained, common salt and Alkali, feeding the
children of nature with its Blood.
\Vhen the Male and Female meet a perfect Fruit is engendered.
The volatile animal kingdom demonstrates this.
The vegetable Hermaphrodite, which is between volatile and
fixed, shows also whence it proceeds.
The fixed Earths, Stones, Flints, prove that they belong to the
nitre and salt. Air, water, and earth demand the active principle
from nitre alone.
When now the noble sperm of the Earth or World has been fixed,
and from vapour and water has been converted into a fixed
earth, then is accomplished that which the wise esteem most.
The volatile must become fixed, and from vapour and humidity
must become earth and a dry Red Blood. Then it is the
treasure of the world and the highest blessing.
9 A periect perlection which expel, poverty and d;""se.
(To be contintled.)
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REVIEWS.
505
fttbit1us.
-:0:-
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MAZDAYASNIAN RELIGION*.
are glad to notice that the translator of Dr. Casartelli's disser-
"-'Y:Jv:' tation, La Philosophie religieuse dZI sous les Sassanides,
whereby he gained his Doctorat at Louvain University in 1884-,
has added some corrective notes to his excellent translation of the D.>ctor's
treatise. Dr. L. C. Casartelli, who is also a Catholic priest, throughout
his work labours under the strange delusion that Mazdeism is largely
indebted to Judaism and Christianity for all that is best in it. Whenever
he makes a confident statement on this point, his Parsee translator is
immediately busy with a refutation, supported either by texts from the
Avesta and other ancient writings, or by quotations from Western
scholars who hold opinions exactly the reverse of those of the Louvain
graduate. There are also many other points on which the translator
picks up the author and corrects his translation of Pehlevi texts or
misconceptions of the philosophy. We however think that there still
r('mains much to be done, especially in the latter direction, and shall
endeavour to point out one or two misconceptions which an elementary
knowledge of symbology should have easily avoided. In spite of these
blemishes, however, much remains that will be of great interest to the
student of Esotericism and of support to the argument of Theosophy as
to the unity of all religions.
In the outset but scant justice is done to the primal spiritual postulate
of the Mazdean system, that" Boundless Time ", Zrvan Akarana, which
connotes the Parabrahm of the Vedantin and the Ain Sopk of the Kabbalah,
the Absoluteness; while on the contrary the Dualism of the religion is
unduly accentuated. This draws from the Translator a long note beginning
with the paragraph :-
II It is a well-known fact and it is proved by many distinguished savants,
both European and Zoroastrian, that the leading feature of the theology of
the original or Zoroastrian Mazdeism, as contained in the A vesta and
especially in the Gai.thai.s, was strictly based on Monotheism . . ..
A View, by the way, which has been strongly defended even in the
Occident by Dr. West and others.
In describing the Wisdom Doctrine, which is the common property of
all Eastern religions and to be found in the Avesta equally with the rest,
Dr. Casartelli follows Spiegel in his effort to set down its origin to the credit
of the West, and quotes largely from the Sapiential Books of the Old
Testament. If there is one thing that is certain it is that the Wisdom-
religion and the Sophia-my thus have always come by the way of the East.
However it is not to be supposed that a man will ever find the root of the
tree of the W orId Religions by keeping his eyes fixed on some particular
branch or branchlet.
The frequent recurrence of the number 7 in the Mazdean System is
remarkable. For instance we read of 7 continents; 7 days of creation; 7
great mountains, the principal off-shoots of Alburz, the Mazdean Meru; 7
metals produced from the limbs of the first man, Gd.y6",art i q. kinds of
liquid; 7 senses, &c. This has, however, escaped the notice of the author.
The Philosophy of the Mazdayasnian Roeligion under the Sassanids, translated from
the French of L. C. Casartelli by Firoz Jamaspji Dastur Jamasp Asa; Bombay Jehangir
Bejanji Karani, 17 and 18, Parlii Bazaar, 1889.
5
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5
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LUCIFER.
Again in dealing with the A",esofpantls, * the F"afliiha"s and F"aflfJShis, not the
slightest elucidation is offered and the entire puzzlement of the scholars on
the subject is frankly admitted. The Amshaspends are esoterically the
7 Primordial Emanations, or Logoi, of their synthesis Auhar",aza who
II dwells in the eternal or endless light in the place of Auharmazd" and
which is .. clearly distinguished from the created light of the world" (p.
26). The Ferouers or Fravashis are the Reincarnating Egos of Humanity
and are said to be equal in number to the Drujs or Demons (p. 93).t At the
end of the world each Warrior-Fravashi combats and overcomes his twin-
demon. All of which is perfectly clear to the student of Esotericism, who
will also see the same idea underlying the mystery of A harman, the syzygy
of Ailharmazd, and the synthesis of the Demons, who are identical with
the Asu,as of the Pura.nas. Speaking of the Mazdean Satan, Dr. Casartelli
writes:-
" If he deprives a man of his wife, his children, his whole terrestrial wealth, nay
even his life, he does not consider it as a great misfortune; but if he succeeds in
carrying off his soul and in ruining it, he considers it indeed a great wrong that he
has done him" (p. 64).
So that perhaps after all the devil is not so black as he is painted.
Very far from the truth is our learned Pehlevi scholar in his remarks
on the frequent allusions to rain in the Mazdean scriptures and the reverence
with which it was regarded by the followers of the Avesta doctrines. Of
course the reason of this reverence must be attributed to natural causes. It was
simply because the populace was largely engaged in agricultural pursuits! But
then what can you think of a superstition which actually believed that the
seeds of all things came down in the rain!! Such is the tone of the Doctor's
remarks. Perhaps such an explanation inaysatisfy the limited comprehension
of a solar-mythologist; it will not however content the student of occult
symbology. Rain and Water correspond to the ether of space and to the
astrat ocean that surrounds the earth. This contains the types or II seeds"
of all that grows on the bosom of our Mother Bhumi. Bllt setting aside
occult science, for ignorance of which an orientalist may perhaps be
excused, the author might at least have found, even from his own notes,
some more reasonable explanation of the peculiar reverence for rain which
obtained in the Sassanian cosmology.
In the category of the 14 kinds of Water, called by the" general name
of .l{ayci .. (p. 114), we read of the" 'Vater in plants ", of "Animal seed ",
"blood ", &c. We may compare this with the different kinds of Fire, of
which II five . . . are known", these were" diffused through the six sub-
stances, that is to say the works of the six periods of creation" (p. 116), which
together with the seventh creation, the" day of rest", complete the 7 mystic
Fires. The 5 correspond to the 5 known elements, the remaining 2 being
still latent, like the senses. These are given as follows :-
"(l) The fire Berezi-sar,ang shines near the Lord, Atiharmazd. It seems to be a
spiritual fire which is incorporated in the various forms of material fire, especially
like three souls in the three sacred fires.
II (2) The fire Vohiifr)'an dwells in the bodies of men and animals and feeds upon
water and solid food.
" (3)' The fire Un,Jz;sl is the fire which is found in plants. It feeds upon water
and has no other food.
"(4) The fire VJzisl is the lightning which dwells in the clouds . This
fire has no need either of food or drink.
"(5) The fire yplnist is the common fire of the world which consumes food but
not water.
"The fire Vd.hrdm, the sacred fire of the Mazd<lyasnian altar, is associated with the
fire last mentioned. As we have seen, this fire is rather an incarnation of the celestial
It is to be regretted that the French transliteration has been retained throughout.
t Because the Drujs are the lesser .. Mapases ...
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REVIEWS.
fire. It has three bodies or principal centres The three souls of the celestial
fire lodge in these three corporeal fires, all of which form the entire body of the fire
Valzni",."
Again, speaking of the Mystic Trees, the GtJkarl, the source of
all medicines, is said to grow out of the earth, whereas the White Hom
"which will furnish man with immortality at the time of the resurrection, is
spoken of as being in the ocean, or the sea with the wide shores", esoteri-
cally Space. And, we might add, that the one grows with its roots in the
earth, the other with its roots in heaven, twin-trees, one the reflection of
the other and both within every man. From all of which we may perceive
that perhaps the superstition is not so absurd, for: " the water or sap in
the plants circulates like the waters of the earth, or like the blessings
which the righteous utter, or which come back to themselves" (p. Il9),
and as "blood" is under the same law, therefore it follows that the Maz-
dean initiates knew both of the "circulation of the blood" and, more
important still, of the cyclic and karmic law.
Those who have read Berosus and of the" Monsters terrible and bad"
of the stanzas of the Book of Dzyan, will find some interesting items in
corroboration of the existence of intermediate and monstrous types in the
first arc of primordial evolution. \"l e read of gigantic three-legged asses,
of tree fishes and ox fishes, &c., &c. But more interesting still to the
student of fhe Secret Doctrine is the description of the Mazdayasnian anthro-
pogenesis.
" The human race is not only descended from the primeval man, Glly(}mart,jrolll
!I'/zOIll I11I me/als art a/so derilJed, but it has also passed through a r'egtta6le (.I:islell"
before heing constituted in its present state.
U Man was in fact the work of the sixth epoch of the creation. ACtharmazd formed
Gliyomart, a solitary male being, from the earth. He was 71..hilt', IJri//i,rnt-/oolling IlS tl"
sun. He had three characteristics, viz., life, speech, and mort alit) . Thejirst 171.'0 were
communicated to him by ACtharmazd, the last is owing to the influence of Aharman.
The whole of mankind has inherited these characteristics by its descent from Gll.yomart.
"He and the primeval ox were the only living beings on the earth during the
first 3,000
0
years. Both of them Ih'ed in peace and happiness till the commencement
of the millenillm of the constellation of Lihrat. Then Aharman attacked and
overwhelmed them with e\'ils during 30 yearst, and at length put them to death.
GAyomart, while succumbing under the blows of his adversary, predicted that man-
kind would be born of him. Then he lJequeal/ud /lis very justly to Aharman ....
"Gli.yomart while dying dropped his seed, which was purified by the liKht of lite
sunil. Two-thirds of it were absorbed by the earth. Forty years after,.it produced
two human beings under the form of a plant, ha\'ing onlv one stem, IS lea\'es, and IS
years of age. These two beings, MAshya and MAshy6i (otherwise MatrO and MatrO-
yau), were united logether <II Ihe lIIiddlc, in such a manner that it was impossible to
know which was the male and which the fem,lle. It was not either known if they
possessed reason. Then they passed from the vegetable form to the human one; the
faculty . . . which is the soul, spiritually entered into them.o
o
.. We give below the comments of Windischmann on this curious legend :-tt
". The plant with a single stem is the type of the unique origin of the two sexes,
or Gf their original insepal ableness. The stem is aged fifteen years, for .this is the
perfect age assigned to GAyomart himself. It has fifteen leaves, for an equal number
of human races inhabited the K':s/Illtzrs.tt The plant appeared for forty years, for that
is the normal age of generation in the Mli.shya and MAshyOI were twins, like
Three Rounds. Here" man .. stands for the future physical man and the" primeval
Ox" or Bull. for the ever developing potential nature.'
t Symbolizes separation of sexes.
Sandhyas among the Hindus. This signifies the third Root Race of the Fourth Round.
, Chhaya. II The Egg-born. Hermaphrodite .
Separation of sexes; incarnation of Manasaputra.
tt Windischmann. Zor. Stud . pp. 214. 215. tt Continents. " The" Ark".
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5
08 LUCIFER.
Yama and Yami in the Vtdas, like Yima and his sister in the BU1I-tltlttsll, which
derh'es its information from more ancient sources.'
H Another p\;tnt was formed resembling this one: it produced ten races of mon-
strous and fabulous men, as the Cynocephalus, winged men, men hl\;ng tails and
others; but all of them were the issues of the seed of Gflvomart. Those' of the
forests ha\'ing tails and hairy bodies '0 are undoubtedly the great quadrumana, like
the gorilla of Africa (?) Besides other cases of rehltionship between men anti tiome
inferior animals were admitted. The Pehlevi "ersion of the VtnditlQd also at>serts th.lt
'all that which appertains to the monkey (K,iJ;il) is precisely like (that which
appertains to) man.' Elsewhere the monkey, hear and negro are grouped together as
dtg,adtd 1IU/II'lIl ,aas,I.',Hled/rom flu 6rta'ull 111(1/ tllIIl tT,il spirilst-den,
dnijs and pariks "(pp. 129-131).
Further on we are told that Mli.shya and Mashyoi when they first
obtained their soul, "covered their bodies with grass (giyli.h), and had no
need of food but drank only water"; afterwards they killed a sheep, and
having discovered fire by frictioll, they roasted it. .. On this very occasion
they covered themselves with garments of skin "t. All of which is a plain
simple statement of fact to the student of scientific mythology.
Page 145 gives us an intt:resting piece of information and another
proof of one of the contentions of the esoteric doctrine, for we read: "The
age of reason has no fixed limit; it varies between 7 and 8 years, for before
this age' sin does not take root''', or as we should say individual Karma
does not operate.
Under the heading KlwCttikdaf, the author tries his best to convict the
Mazdean scriptures of sanctioning incest! This pious libel brings his
translator down upon him in an excellent note, where he conclusively proves
that the meaning of the avestaic term qutUtvadatha cannot even by the most
elaborate imagination of prejudice be twisted into any such meaning. It
simply means a " a giving of oneself, a giving in relationship, self-dedica-
tion, devotion ". As an epithet of the Mazdayasnian religion, it means
"bearing relationship with God" and as an attribute generally means
"devout ". In other words it is descriptive of spiritual Yoga and occult
powers. But what can you expect of the religious mind of the West, which
believes literally in the 700 wives and 300 concubines of King Solomon!
The same charitable accusation is brought against Arda-i Viraf, the most
holy of all the Dasturs, who restored the Mazdayasnian traditions to their
original purity. This most holy man is said to have had his seve" sistlTS to
wife, whereas the meaning is, that the Dastur had achieved complete
mastery over his seven" principles". 0 Shades of holy ascetics, into what
evil times have the narratives of your great deeds fallen!
Space will not permit us to make more than mention of the wonderful
world mountain Alblirz that surrounds the whole earth and is pierced with
360 openings, and of the mundane egg; of the two Maidens that meet the
Soul at death, the personifications of his good and evil deeds, and of the
Cinflat Bridge which unites this world with that beyond the grave and is
situated on the" peak of judgment ", which is in the middle of the World
and a part of the Alblirz; of the Heavens and the Hells, of which latter
Viraf says the worst is 0" the earlh, and of the end of the World. Under the
last heading we read :-
" At last comes the millenium of SoshyAns, the last prophet. During this epoch
the appetite will gradually diminish and men will desist at first from eating meat and
lastly they \Viii live upon water. . . . .
" All this regeneration will be accomplished under the direction of the prophet
The" Race of crooked red-hair covered monsters going on all fours ", (S.D. II. 19.)
t Animals.
: This refers to the gradual consolidation of the bodies of primitive men, and to the
incarnation of the Flames, or MaruJSajutra, the reincarnating Egos,
N.B,-The Italics are our own.
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REVIEWS.
Soshy"ns, who will have assistants, certain Illen an.! women who have been preservl'd
from death in the mystical regions, like that of AfrA.n Vej, the reminiscence of the
primitive country of the Aryas, whiCh has become a sort of otJicina genl;um for the last
ages. This country s:ems to be in KIzvalliraf, on the shores of the ocean. It contains
the Var or tbe enclosure formed and gO\'erned by Yim i it is under the earth and is
one of the abodes of these immortals."
Which is simply a reference to the" imperishable land" and the" race
which never dies" of the Secret Doctrine.
Finally we would ask the author: (a) how, if, as he says, the Mazday-
asnian religious writers were most strongly opposed to Christianity,
Judaism and Manichreism, they could at the same time owe the most
spiritual portions of their system to the two former religions: and
(b) If he cannot escape from the horns of this dilemma, is he prepared
to endorse the statement where he says :-
" Among all otber non-Christian religions, the Mazdayasnian religion can justly
boast of having the soundest, the highest and the most reasonable system of ethics."
(c) If so, what was the source of this religion, if not the one stream of
initiation that has ever watered the earth?
THE YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI.*
OUR learned brothers Tookaram Tatya and M. N. Dvivedi have laid
us under a fresh obligation, the one by publishing, the other by
producing this new edition of the immortal work of Patanjali. Without
doubt it is the best edition yet presented to the English reading
public, and will be welcomed by every Theosophist acquainted with one or
another of the already existing translations and commentaries. Following
the good example of the arrangement by brothers 'Judge and Connelly, it
dispenses with the annoying brackets of Govindadeva Shastri's translation.
But this is the least of its merits, for not only are the improvements in
translation numerous, but the annotations of our learned professor follow
with unvarying regularity each aphorism, written in an excellently clear
style which will render the difficulties of the text, already considerably
modified by Dvivedi in his translation, within the comprehension of every
careful student.
The professor points out a fact that \Vestern students are not
sufficiently aware of, viz., that the study of Patanjali assumes an intimate
acquaintance with the evolutionary system of the Sankh)'a philosophy of
Kapila, which may be rendered as the numbering or analysis of the
universe. The Yoga system adds the conception of [swara, or god.
but whether Patanjali intended this term to connote a personal or
impersonal deity is still a matter of dispute among the learned, in fact
adhuc sub judice lis est. On page 94, Professor Dvivedi drops a useful hint
in saying: "What Patanjali calls mind throughout is called P,ak,iti by
Kapila "; this is a veritable Ariadne's thread which will lead the steadfast
enquirer to a remarkable discovery, for if the key to the apparently
materialistic "atomism" of the Sankh)'a is once grasped, it will translate
itself into the most spiritual and occult metaphysics the mind can conceive.
Generally speaking the annotation of this translation contains a large
Dumber of useful aids and suggestions for the student of occultism,
especially with regard to reincarnation and the independent action of the
Translation. with Introduction. Appendix, and Notes, based upon ~ e v e r l authentic
Commentaries, by Manilal Nabhubhai Dvivedi, sometime Professor of Sanskrita.
SimalaMsa ColIl'ge: Publisht'd by Tookaram Tatya, for the Bombay Theosophical
Publication Fund, 1890.
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mind, The idea of the supreme state attained by the Yogis is also well
explained. It is called, in the Yoga-Sutra Kaivolya and is "a state in which
there is entire cessation of all desire, and when the nature of the essence
of all consciousness is known, there is no room for any action of the mind,
the source of all phenomena". It is defined in the text as "the power of
the soul centred in itself", and further explained by the translator ~ "not
any state of negation or annihilation as some are misled to think". And
he adds, "The soul in Kaivalya has its sphere of action transferred to a
higher plane. This our limited minds cannot hope to
understand. "
It is impossible for all except the finest Sanskrit scholars to pass a
sufficient criticism on the translation of the aphorisms, although a
comparison with other translations will easily place Dvivedi's in the
front rank, both from the point of view of philosophy and com-
prehensibility. We shall, therefore, only remark on a few of the most
salient points in the notes, ..,hraddha, which is translated by that scape-
goat of a word" faith ", is thus explained:
"Faith is the form and the pleasant conviction of the mind as regards the
efficacy of ""ga. Truc faith always leads to energic action, which again, by the
potcn.:y of its vh'idness, calls to mind all previous knowledge of the subject. This is
energy which leads to proper discrimination of right and wrong."
In commentating on the" Word of Glory", the Pranava, the mystic
Word OM, and its repetition, the annotator says:
II japa means repetition, but it should be accompanied by proper meditation on
the meaning of the words or syllables repeated. The best way IS MJ1UlSa, i.t., mental,
such that it never ceases even during work, nay, evcn in 1Ilecp,"
Verb, s.t. sap.! The 40th and following aphorisms of Book II. deal
with" purity" and it is interesting to remark how these spiritual sciences
of old insisted on " mental" purity as of the first importance. How little
has the solitary hint, "he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath
committed adultery already with her in h;s heart", been understood by the
\Vest! And how desperately we need the knowledge of such elementary
fads of Eastern occultism, and the Gllpta Vidya, is known but too well and
miserably by all Western students. The" unco' guid" scowl at Tolstoi,
when he points to the knot that is choking them; still they will Ita ve to get
their fingers on it some day if they do not wish to be "cast out into the
swine ",
The very difficult and obscure aphorisms IX, et seq. Book IlL, are
explained more intelligently than heretofore. After explaining Nirodlsa
as meaning "the interception of all transformations, or thought and
distractions", and further elucidating that these distractions are not
those ordinarily understood, but" the distraction which is still there (sc.,
in the mind). in the form of Samprajndta or conscious Samadhi, the result
of Samyama" (i.e., the union of the three processes: Dharanti, contemplation,
or "the fixing of the mind on something external or internal "'; Dh)'iina, the
making of the mind one with the object thought of; and Samtidhi, the
forgetting of this act and the becoming one with the object of thought)-
he says:
" The moment the mind begins to pass from one state to the other (sc., from
conscious to so-called II unconscious" trance), two distinct processes begin, f'iz., the
slow but sure going out of the impressions which distract, and the equally gradual but
certain rise of the impressions that intercept, When the intercepting impressions
gain complete supremacy, the moment of interception is achieved, and the mind
transforms itself into this intercepting moment, so to speak. It is in the interval of
this change that the mind may droop and fall into what is called la)'a or a state of
passive dulness, leading to all the miseries of irresponsible mediumship."
He reiterates this 'warning' again in another passage when saying:
" Mere passive trance is a dangerous practice, as it leads to the madness of
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irresponsible mediumship "; and again in describing the four Yoga states,
he says:
"When the Yogin passes from the first state and enters the second, his danger
begins. He is ell rapport with those regions that are not amenahle to ordinary "ision,
and is therefore open to danger from beings of that realm, good, bad, and indifferent.
These are called Dtvas-powers of places, ; . ~ . powers prevailing over various pla':e's
or forces, such as residence in heaven, company of beautiful women, &c. , .
But besides these temptations, either seen or unseen, there may be various other
ways, both physical as well as spiritual, in which the aspirant may be worried,
frightened, or anyhow thrown off his guard, and tempted or ruined. The only
remedy for all this mischief is supreme non-attachment, which consists in not taking
pleasure in the enjoyment of the temptations, as well as not taking pride in one's
power to call up such. A steady calm will carry the Yogin safe to the end. If this
cannot be done, the very evils from which the YoKin seeks release would harass with
redoubled strength."
Oyez, Oyez, ye psychics I
In annotating the XVII. aphorism of the same Book, Professor
Dvivedi gives us a very interesting exposition of the Splwla doctrine.
II Spllola", he says, .. is a something indescribable which eternally exists apart
from the letters forming any word, and is yet inseparably connected with it. for it
rn'eals (S/,Ilottl, that which is re\'ealed) itself on the utterance of that word. In like
manner the meaning of a sentence is also rtvt'a/ed, so to speak, from the collective
sense of the words used."
So also with nature sounds, cries of animals, &c. By a knowledge of
the TatwfIS and the practice of Samyana, the yogin can sense all sounds; this
is one of the Siddkis or " powers latent in man".
The appendix contains some selections from the Hathafradipikd which
deals with the practice of Hatilavidyd, that is Hathayoga, of which the less
said the better. The diet recommended, however, may be useful to
Vegetarians. It is: "wheat, rice, barley, milk, gllee, sugar, butter, sugar-
candy, honey, dry ginger, five vegetables (not green), oats and natural
waters ". This puts us in mind of another interesting passage in the notes
on aphorism XXX. Book II., which enjoins forbearance from five evils,
and is almost identical with the Buddhist Pansii. The word himsa is
translated, for want of a better term, " killing", and thus explained:
"It means the wishing evil to any being by word, act, or thought, and
abstinence from this kind of killing is the only thing strongly required. It ob\'iously
implies abstinence from animal food, inasmuch as it is ne\'er procurable without direct
or indirect Rimsa of some kind. The avoidance of animal food from another point
of view is also strongly to be recommended,OIs it always leads to the growth of
animality to the complete obscuration and even annihilation of intuition and spirituality.
It is to secure this condition of being with nature and ne\'er against it, 01' in other
word!> being in love with nature, that all other restrictions are prescribed."
This is further explained in the note to aphorism XXXV., where it is
said: .
" The abstinence here implied is not the merely negative state of not killing, but
positive feeling of universal love. , . . . \Vhen one bas acquired this confirmed
habit of mind, even natural antipathy is held in abeyance in bis presence i needless to
add that no one harms or injures him. All beings, men, animals, birds,-approach him
without fear and mix with him without reserve."
Finally, if anyone raise the question "cui bono; what good can such
books do to us Westerns"; they will not have far to seek. We have
already heard threatening rumours that some of our best minds, who have
been fed solely on the intellectual husks of modern research, have raised
the cry, "there is no scientific basis, no raison d' etre for ethics; all such
unscientific garbage is hysterical emotionalism". The ancient soul-science
of Aryavarta gives such objectors the" lie direct". As well stated in our
thoughtful and learned pundit's introduction:
"A system of ethics not based on rational demonstration of the universe is of
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LUCIFER.
no practical value. It IS only a system of the ethics of individual opinions and
individual convenience. It has no activity and therefore no strength. The aim
of human existence is hal)piness, progress, and all ethics teach men how to attain the
one and achieve the other. The question, however, remains, what is happiness and
what is progress? These are issues not yet soh'ed in any satisfactory manner by the
known systems of ethics. The reason is not far to seek. The modern tendency is to
separate ethics from physics or rational demonstration of the unh'erse, and thus
make it a science resting on nothing but the irregular whims and caprices of
individuals and nations.
"In India, ethics have ever been associated with religion. Religion has ever
been an attempt to solve the mystery of nature, to understand the phenomena of
nature, and to realise the place of man an nature. E"ery religion has its philosophical
as well as ethical aspect, and the latter without the former has, here at least, DO
meaning. If e\'ery religion has its physical and ethical side, it has its psychological
side as well. There is no possibility of establishing relations between physics and
ethics, but through psycholo;,:y. Psychology enlarges the conclusions of physics and
confirms the ideal of morality."
This" missing link" will be found everywhere in Manilal Nabhubhai
Dvivedi's book, and we are delighted to congratulate both him on his work,
and also those who will be fortunate enough to be persuaded to study this
valuable contribution to Theosophical literature.
THE BLOOD IS THE MAN.'"
THIS weird story derives its inspiration from a conceit that has been several
times already employed by the compilers of " shilling shockers ". A dying
man is resurrected by the transfusion of blood from the veins of another.
The result is a change of personality. The inevitable Doctor who dabbles
in the occult, certain tragic incidents of a "vendetta" colouring, and.a
general ",ise-en-scene of names, countries, and times that no one has ever
heard of before, or wishes to hear of again, fill 100 stout pages of pica type,
and may wile away a quarter of an hour with sufficient excitement for some
people. The general craving for mystery is producing an over supply of
such books. It is, however, strange that the caterers for the popular
appetite offer such poor fare, when they might serve up such gorgeous
banquets of horrors for a very small outlay of reading in the limitless fields
of medireval magic and witchcraft.
~ ~ ~ ~
SAADI.
And where is Saadi now? 0 Golden-mouth!
Who swept the heart-chords of this world at will ;
Thy song is ringing thro' the ages still,
Thy memory revered from north to south.
Thy perfect Soul knew not the cost of sin,
The clutch of Dharma, Kamaloka's kiss,
Nor dull Devachan with its aimless bliss;
Nirvdna gaped to suck thy Spirit in.
Our life's the nobler for thy having been,
The happier for thy messages of love;
Charmed by thy power the unhappy strove
To build a niche within the dim Unseen.
CHARLES MACKAY OLIVER, F.T.S.
\V. Lawton-Lowth: The Bancroft Company. San Francisco.
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tJtbtllsapbiral ~ d i b i t i t s
EUROPEAN SECTION.
ENGLAND.
The second course of Thursdaye\'ening discussions at the Blavatsky
Lodge opened on Jan. 22nd. The following is the syllabus:-
JAN. 22.-The Constitution of Man. I. Man as a septenary; his relation to the seven planes
of Being: the Trinity and the Quaternary: the building up of the physical man;
the .. Lives"; the physical consciousness: .. death."
JAN. 29.-11. The astral body: meaning of the term: astral forms: the relation of the
astral body to the physical: .. apparitions": .. spirits"; .. death."
FEB. 5.-111. The Life-Pnnciple; its relation to the One Life: The Kamic Principle;
passions and desires: Kama-Riipa: the .. spook"; .. death."
FEB. 12.-IV. The" Mind": the Higher and Lower Mind: the Ray: Kama-Manas; the
personal and individual .. 1 "; the battle-ground of life.
FEB. 19.-V. The" Mind"; Reason and Intelligence; Ratiocination and Intuition:
Perception, Memory, Judgment: Brain-Mind; genius: persistence of the In-
dividual.
FEB. 26.-VI. Separability of mental consciousness and brain: mental activity and phys-
ical lethargy; senses other than .. the five"; clairvoyance: creative power of
imagination: domination of fixed ideas.
MAR. 5.-VII. AtmA-Buddhi; the Higher Self; glimpses of" the god within"; the phys-
ical, the psychical, the spiritual; the oneness of Humanity in its- permanent
_ element: the final triumph of the self-conscious Spirit.
MAR. IZ.-Rei,uarnation. I. Meaning of term: metempsychosIs: what it is incarnates and
reincarnates: when and why; the object: the pursuit: the spoils of victory.
MAR.I9.-Rein{arnalion. II. The proofs: .. innate ideas": .. hereditary transmission":
.. organised experience": family likenesses and divergences: precocity; rapidity
of acquirement; intuitions; argument from justice; vexed problems of life:
wide-spread nature of belief.
MAR. z6.-Karma. Meaning of term: "laws of nature": cause and effect; fatalism:
character and destiny: poverty and wealth; the choice of the Ego: the object of
its pilgrimage: .. good" and .. bad" conditions.
The discussion is opened each evening by Annie Besant, the President
of the Lodge.
Chiswick.-The recent efforts which have been made in this district,
have resulted in the formation of a Lodge, which was formally inaugurated
on the loth Jan., when the following officers were elected. President, W.
Kingsland; Vice-President, A. A. Harris; Secretary, Treasurer and
Librarian, F. L. Gardner. Open meetings of this Lodge are held every
fortnight, on Saturday evenings, at 8 o'clock; at 37, Barrowgate Road.
On the intermediate Saturday evenings the members meet for the study of
the Secret Doctrine.
"The Problems of Life and Death" was the subject of Annie Besant's
lecture, on Saturday afternoon, Tan. 24th, at the Steinway Hall, Portman
Square. The Hall, notwithstanding the most inclement weather, was well
filled by the public, comparatively few Theosophists being present. We
leave the press to speak about the success of the lecture. Says the Star
and other papers :-
.. Mrs. Besant lSave an extraordinarily eloquent lecture on Saturday in the Steinway
Hall on "The Problems of Life and Death". She understands, as so very few good speak-
ers do, the beauty of rhythm in a sentence, and the force that is gained by the reiteration of
some particular word. She has evidently trained herself in the same school of oratory as
John Bright, and has gone to the same source of literary and poetic inspiration-the Bible.
"rhc one central belief upon which she laid stress was the eternity of life. It is death,' she
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said not life that is the hal1ucination.' The spirit alone is eternal. If the brain decay
and the body die.' she exclaimed shall not the spirit find some new instrument?' In this
Theosophic faith. Mrs. Besant said. was an inner fount of serenity'. and to those who had
once held it life could never be the same again.'
.. Only second in importance to this faith in the eternity of the spirit Theosophy main-
tained the truth of the' brotherhood of man'. Mrs. Besant recognised now as before the
necessity for mutual helpfulness. with the added obligation that Theosophists' out of their
own fount of calmness should bring calmness to those around them'. The lecture was
listened to throughout with the utmost attention by an audience which included many
thoughtful and cultivated people."
The Eclw says:-
.. It almost takes away one's breath to find Mrs. Besant arguing against the Material-
istic position. and rebuking the absolute scepticism of Professor Huxley. but this is actually
what took place at the Stein way Hall on Saturday afternoon. Mrs. Besant argued that The
real life of man resided in self-consciousness, and it was that alone that was permanent. while
all else was transitory. It was this self-consciousness partially separated from the body that
was met with in the hypnotic state. It was clear. therefore. that this inte11igence need not
perish when the body perished, as it functioned more freely when it was even partially
divorced from the flesh. Death, then, became a mere change. and not a blow which
destroyed life.' EsoteriC Buddhism is not Orthodoxy. but it has stronger affimties with
Orthodoxy than Materialism."
The impressions that the reporter of the Daily Chronicle noted down were,
that
.. She compared human life to the flight of a bird from the dark of night into a
brilliantly-lighted hall and back again. All religions had been more or less an attempt to
tum that darkness into light, an attempt to escape from the hard conditions of daily life.
always reaching upwards with the design of making life itself more precious by throwing on
the darkness that encircled each grave some light which might make it less sad for those
who were left. Even the natural religions gave expression to man's yearning for a life
beyond the grave. All these religions had striven to solve the mystery of death, it being
believed that if this should be explained life would be a problem less hard of solution. In
every man's life there was a period when he passed out mto the desert alone, and faced in
solitude the problems of life and death. The materialistic position that one never found
mind' apart from 'matter', and from a specialised form of matter, was a strong one.
But if we looked to nature, we were struck with one pregnant fact, which seemed to suggest
that Materil1lists had begun at the wrong end. Having rejected the materialistic position,
Mrs. Besant said that public attention had been called more and more of late to a body of
evidence which scientists must take into consideration. and some of which had been placed
before the public in connection with the spiritualistic movement. Professor Huxley had a
perfect right not to believe, but he had no right to deny where knowledge had not preceded
denial. Let them turn to another development of purely modern science which could not
be explained upon a materialistic basis-hypnotism, Applying this to the higher qualittes
of reason and inteJligence, it was found that memory and the reasoning faculties could be
so stimulated as to give a fresh insight into life. The real life of man resided in self-
consciousness, and it was that alone that was permanent. while all else was transitory, It
was this self-consciousness partially separated from the body that was met with in the
hypnotic state. It was clear, therefore. that this intelligence need not perish when the
body perished, as it functioned more freely when it was even partially divorced from the
flesh. Death, then, became a mere change, and not a blow which destroyed life. Life was
the one thing permanent in the midst of change."
Will Theosophy ever leaven the Churches, is a question which is often
asked by earnest Theosophists. The Churches do not come to Theosophy
but Theosophy has begun to go to the Churches. On Sunday, January
25th, Herbert Burrows lectured before the members of the Rev. F'leming
Williams' Congregational Church at Stoke Newington. To a deeply
interested audience he spoke on the present position of churches
and creeds, the need for agreement rather than difference, and for
synthesis rather than analysis. He explained the chief Theosophical ideas.
and traced the fundamental conceptions of man and the universe as spiritual
in their essence, as the connecting link between all the world religions,
showing how in Christianity this conception had exoterically become
materialised j and concluding with a strong appeal to those present to look
beneath the surface and search for that spiritual truth which alone can
form the basis of the real brotherhood of man. The Rev. Fleming
Williams, who presided, said that rarely had he been so profoundly
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interested. The transparent honesty of the lecturer's public life was well
known to all present, and was a guarantee that his views had been thought
out with earnestness of purpose and singleness of heart. In view of tht"
exceeding importance of the subject he recommended that there should be
no discussion then, but that all should carefully think the matter over so
that a discussion might be taken at some future date. The Star, in noticing
the lecture, says:--
.. The Theosophical lesson which Mrs. Desant taught the West-enders on Saturday was
repeated to North Londont:rs on Sunday afternoon by Herbert Burrows. For the first time
Theosophy found a hearing in a church. The Rev. Fleming Williams is essentially a live
all-round man, and he has institut.m at his church at Stoke Newington a series of Sunday
afternoon conferences, which are remarkable for their broadness and catholicity of spirit .
.. Mr. Burrows was invited to open one of these conferences, and he chose for his
subject' The Spiritual in all Religions', treating it from the Theosophical standpoint. A
large audience listened with the closest attention to the lecturer's exposition of his new
belief. The most eager interest was shown in his account of his passage from Materialism
to Theosophy, and to a spiritual conc.:ption of man and the universe, and also in the narra-
tive of how Mrs. Besant and himself had little by little gained the new light during their
work together in the East-end."
Mrs. Besant lectured also on Jan. 15th to the Christo-Theosophical
Society, on "What is Theosophy?" and on Jan. 17th, at the Bedford
Park Club, to a crowded audience, her subject being: "Theosophy in
relation to the occult side of nature". Tan. 27th found her at Croydon,
explaining Theosophy to an uncomfortably full meeting of the Socratic
Society, connected with the Free Christian Church.
THEOSOPHY AND THE PRESS.
Among the late Press Notices of Lucifer we remark in the Review of
Reviews a lengthy extract from the article" Magic Rainmakers in Africa ",
and this article is also noticed and quoted from in the Weekry Revieu' of 13th
Dec. Mr. Stead's recently issued Portraits a"d Autographs contains excellent
likenesses of Madame Blavatsky and Mrs. Besant, and in the Review of
Ret'iews for January and the Scottish Leader are short extracts from the
principal artIcles in the December number. The Western Morning News of
January 13th and the Literary World of January 16th (which gives the
definition of Hypnotism, from H.P.B.'s article), The Evening News and The
Newcastle Chronicle also contain short notices. Our East-End Club for
Working Girls, and its doings, are, among other papers, noticed by the
Newcastle Chronicle, The Queen, Evening News, East LOlldon Observer, Dairy
Chr01licle, Mistress a"d Maid. Accounts of Blavatsky Lodge Meetings are to
be found in the columns of the Star for various dates. The Birmingham
Post has a short paragraph describing the January Conversazione at Head.
quarters. The Society Times, as u!'ual, has a number of articles on Theosophy
and kindred matters contributed by Theosophists, among which may be
noticed "The Teachings of Theosophy", "A Plea for Theosophy",
"Theosophy as an Aid to Morality", &c" &c. Mr. Jastrzebski's series of
articles" Theosophy on the Defensive" is continued in the issues of the
Agnostic Jourllal for January 3rd and loth, and is concluded in the issue of
January 17th. A series of papers in reply, entitled" Theosophy at Bay",
IS commenced in the succeeding number. The Birmingham Gazette of 2nd
January devotes a column to a review of Miss Arundale's hook, "The Idea
of Re-birth ". There are numerous paragraphs in the papers this month
relating to Mrs. Besant and her work, the more important being those in
the Star, Bristol Mere/try, Newcastle Leader, Woman, and the American Chicago
Tribune. The Woman's Penny Paper has of late given some attention to
Theosophy, and we notice discussions in its columns on "Theosophy and
Christianity", "Women and Theosophy". The London correspondent of
the Umpire informs the world that" Theosophy as a social factor is as dead
as }Estheticism, or the Dodo" !
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The following papers also contain short articles, notices and correspond-
ence on Theosophical subjects: Tablet, Liverpool Mercury, Athentnlm, Light,
Sunday Times, Glasgow Herald, Kensington News, West Middlesex Standard,
West London Observer, F"eeman.
SCOTLAND.
The Scottish Lodge.-The new year was opened with a special meeting.
The first subject for discussion being "Psychic Currents" in connection
with the present epoch, its hopes and fears, dangers and ways of meeting
them. After noting the cyclic periods, e.g., the light which radiates from
the East in the closing years of each century, and the approaching close of
the first cycle of the Kali Yug, an analogy was drawn between psychic
currents, and the currents of magnetism manifesting in the arrangement of
steel filings on a membrane stretched over a magnet, the filings being com-
pared to human beings under the influence of currents. The psychic
currents were distinguished into the dispersive and the centralizing, and
their effect illustrated, the former sweeping all that is worthless to outer-
most darkness, the latter collecting and intensifying all that is worth keeping.
The power of man to place himself in connection with one or other of these
was insisted on, and the fault known as" short-circuiting" was illustrated
in the tendency to form little groups, apart and separate from the great
spiritual life of humanity.
The next item was a very interesting lecture on mechanical modes of
hypnotism by a physician of great eminence and experience, who exhibited
various apparatus used for the purpose, including Dr. Luys' revolving
mirrors. In pointing out the dangers of hypnotism the learned lecturer
used almost the identical terms employed by Madame Blavatsky in Lucifer
for December, but without having read her article.
At the next meeting section six of the" Key to Theosophy" was com-
menced. The relations of the principles there laid down, with the Gnos-
ticism of the early centuries of the Christian era, and the connection of the
latter with Persian Dualism; Manichreism, and the doctrines of the Hussites
and Lollards were bnefly sketched.
The President then gave a short address on the septenary nature of
man, embodying in .the simplest and clearest possible language the most
elementary teaching of the See"et Doet"ine, by way of introduction to the
latter half of this section.
Referring to the friendly editorial note to our last report in Llteifer,
we notice that the remarks are treated as though proceeding from the
President alone. They are, however, a summary of the opinions of the
Lodge after long and close discussions, lasting usually from two and a-half
to three hours at each meeting.
SWEDEN.
The great pressure on our space prevents us from printing at length
the Annual Report for 1890, made by the council of the Swedish Branch of
the Theosophical Society. The following extracts will interest our readers:
-During the second year of its existence the Swedish branch of the Theo-
sophical Society has shown a slow but steady growth.
In the first issue of the" Teosofisk Tidskrift", appears an article by
Mrs. Annie Besant, called" Theosophy and H.P.B. ", which everybody
ought to read and take to heart.
At the end of 1889 seventy-two members were inscribed, sixty-six of
these are still members, and forty-one new ones have been inscribed during
1890. At the end of 1890 the number of members was consequently a
hundred and seventy-sixty-nine settled in Stockholm, thirty-six in the
country, and two in America. Of these members, sixty-six are men and
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THEOSOPHICAL ACTIVITIES.
forty-one are women. During the eighteen meetings of the year, many
important questions have been discussed, among others on: "The idea of
God ", " The link of union between the doctrines of Luther, as they are now
promulgated, and Theosophy", and on "Free will". The Society has
published six pamphlets and a translation of the" Key to Theosophy" by
H. P. Blavatsky. A catalogue of the Society's library and a list of its
members was published April 1St. On September 28th it was resolved to
publish a Theosophical Magazine, to appear eight times during the year.
An issue of four thousand copies was published and distributed in December.
On the 14th December it was decided that the Society hereafter
should receive guests to their meetings who could continue to follow the
proceedings of the Society, without inscribing themselves as members.
Three new paragraphs were added to the rules, which settle the relations
between the general Swedish branch and future lodges in the country towns.
G. ZANDER, President.
SPAIN.
Mad,id.-A lecture on Theosophy, entitled" Una fase del moderno
Renacimiento oriental: la Teosofia novisima" was delivered on January
20th, by Senor Gomez Baquero, at the" Ateneo" which, as our corres-
pondent informs us, may be styled "the brain of Spain, composed of
scholars and writers, politicians, artists and journalists, in a word, of the
intellectual life of Spain ". The lecture has been widely and favourably
noticed by the leading papers of the capital and peninsula. This is the
first occasion on which Theosophy has found voice on the platform in
Spain, and we are glad to be able to say that the lecturer thoroughly
interested his audience in his presentation of the synthesis offered by it.
The 1m parcial, a leading liberal journal, speaks of Theosophy as containing
"the purest, the most sublime, and the most elevating system of ethics".
AMERICA.
We have not much news from our American brethren this month; but
we notice the delivery of a number of lectures under the auspices of various
branches of the Theosophical Society, among them one at Philadelphia by
Mr. Judge. The latter gentleman has issued an appeal to the fellows of the
Indian Section, urging them to systematically and determinedly carry out
the second object of the Society, by sending to the \Vest translations of
Sanscrit and Indian vernacular works bearing on the fundamental doctrines
of Theosophy.
It is with pleasure we see that the Gautama Lodge has been using the
.. Theosophical Gleanings", published in these pages, and that the study of
the" Secret Doctrine" has become easier in consequence. The Upasana
Branch has started on the same plan.
Brother McBride of Light Theosophical Society has been just appointed
Judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana.
INDIA.
[Selections from the Supplement of the " Theosophist".]
FIFTEENTH CONVENTION AND ANNIVERSARY OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY,
At the Head-quarters, Adyar, Madras, December 27th, 28th,
and 29th, 1890.
The General Convention opened at noon on December 27th with the
address of the President-Founder, who was most enthusiastically received.
~ O O g
LUCIFER.
Colonel Olcott, after welcoming the delegates to Adyar, and alluding to
his work, gave a report of the progress of the Society. Sixty-two new
branches had been chartered, 84 Theosophical publications, some of them
of a most important character, were issued from the press in 1889 and
1890. The Adyar Library, Oriental Section, now contains 2,848 works and
1\1SS., 418 of which are Chinese, 272 Japanese, and 10 Thibetan. The
President then sketched the financial position of the Society, and from this
went on to speak of his intended retirement as follows: "In the December
. number of the Theosophist I printed a paragraph announcing my determination
to relinquish office and withdraw into private life. Five years ago to.day,
I asked to be relieved, that some better man might be elected in my place.
The history of my life proves that I have been ever actuated by the feeling
that I would not linger in any place where I was not wanted, or where I
had out-grown my usefulness. I felt that the time had come for me to with-
draw from this Presidential office. My constitution has undergone heavy
strains from my eleven years' public work in the tropics and my nervous
system has been weakened. Things worry me that did not before, and the
cares and troubles of my unique position bear me down. I have been
~ l a b l e to find time for rest and relief from mental strain. Night and day
the burden of anxiety has pressed upon me more and more a'S the expansion
of the Society has increased, and as calls have been made upon me to open
up fresh fields for theosophical activity, India has stood quietly by, seeing
me continually more and more pressed for help, without volunteering to give
it, and, because I was not importunate in begging, let me shift as I could
for income and helpers. Friendly words and pleasant compliments I have
had in plenty, but little more. But for my American compatriots-I repeat
the question-where should I have been? So that, with old age approach-
ing, my health weakened and my mind distressed by ever-augmenting
worries and responsibilities, I felt that I had earned the right to rest, and that if
I did not get it, I should soon break down. So I announced my decision, as
above stated. No sooner had my paragraph appeared, and my friends been
privately informed in advance, than letters, telegrams, and protests from
Branches came pouring in. From some of the best men in America, from
friends in Europe, and from all parts of Asia, came one universal supplica-
tion that I should not withdraw. One of the chief men in India at once
sent in his resignation; a letter from America warned me that hundreds
there would follow suit. One and all, without a single exception, prophesied
that the collapse of the Society would be the consequence if I persisted.
Not a single man or woman realised my true position, or gave me god-speed
into my longed-for retirement. In casting about for my successor, I thought
that the proper person would he my co-founder and intimate friend, Mme.
Blavatsky, and informed her of my determination to resign in her favour.
Besides the fact of our having founded the Society together, and the indeli-
cacy, therefore, of my placing anybody as President over her, I had a still
stronger reason. The Esoteric Section has now grown into a compact body,
which includes more than a thousand of the most intelligent, active,
unselfish and devoted among our Fellows. Each of them is bound by a
solemn pledge to obey her orders in all their Theosophical duties. * Evidently,
then, the transfer of the presidential functions to my eminent colleague
would put her in a position to accomplish for the Society infinitely more
good than she can now, or than I could, who have no claim of authority
over the Fellows, and no pledged body of disciples. So, to reconcile every-
thing, and promote in the highest degree the best interests of our movement,
I asked Mme. Blavatsky to take the office of President. Her answer, thrice
reiterated by letter and cable, was a refusal, coupled with the declaration
that if I resigned she should quit the Society and withdraw Mr. Keightley
Always, however, within the limits of the Rules and the sam/w" of UlllSNIIICI.-lEDS.]
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THEOSOPHICAL ACTIVITIES.
5
1
9
from India: I was needed in my present office, and she would not go on
without me. The gist of the whole matter is this, then: if I persist in
retiring now I must take the responsibility of breaking up this grand, world-
covering Society, or of whatever loss might befall in the withdrawal of a
large number of most respectable colleagues, to say nothing of Mme.
Blavatsky's own resignation. If I stop where I am, and as things now are,
I have the prospect of breaking down, or even worse. But my life-work is
not yet finished. I have books to write that can better be written by me
than by another, because of my personal experience. One great block of
my plans-a religious pact of the Buddhist nations, and the unification of
the two schools of Buddhistic Philosophy-is but just begun. And then, there
is that child of my brain, that hope of my heart, the Adyar Library. If I
succumb, who will make it the power and the blessing to the world it ought to
be? A large part of the chance for the revival of Sanskrit Literature and
the consequent spiritual resuscitation of Indian and enlightenment of
modern thought, depends upon the full development of the scheme of the
Adyar Library. I wish to live for that; that alone is ideal enough for one
man. So this is what I have decided upon. I shall withdraw for a suffi-
cient time from active official work to recuperate my strength and rest my
mind. My resumption of responsibility will depend upon the course of
events, and it rests with my colleagues when that shall be. Meanwhile I
place the Presidency" in Commision ", hereby appointing Tookaram Tatya,
of Bombay, Norendro Nath Sen, of Calcutta, Navroji D. Khandalvala, of
Ahmedabad, and \Villiam Q. Judge of New York, as President's Com-
missioners; to have and exercise all powers and prerogatives remaining to
me (save jurisdiction over and management of the Buddhistic department
of our work, which has always been distinct from the general work of the
Society, and which nobody is familiar with or could properly manage besides
mysel!) until this day twelvemonth, or such other time as I may see my way
to wholly or partially resuming active duty. This act to have effect from
the 1st of April next, or sooner if I can make the requisite arrangements.
Should I die, meanwhile, ample provision has been made in the Code of
Revised Rules just enacted by the General Council of all the Sections of
the Society, for such a contingency. Mr. Keightley's appointment as
General Secretary of the consolidated Indian Section takes effect from the
1st of lanuary, and I bespeak for him the loyal and unstinted support of
every ndian Branch. His plans have my entire approval, and they must
inevitably result in great good for this country.
" And now, I pray you, be convinced of one thing, viz., that I have no
intention of returning to my country or to Europe to settle down. Asia is
my home and my paradise; here let me live and die."
The Recording Secretary's report then followed, and mentioned that
circulars had been sent out to all Indian Branches, containing questions
as to their working. In the middle part of the current year (1890)
fresh circulars were sent to those branches that reported want of
activity in them, asking (1) what they thought the reason of decline
of interest in Theosophy due to; (2) whether political agitation had
anything to do with such a decline; and (3) what remedies they sug-
gested. Out of 93 branches circularized, 51 uniformly replied by saying
that decline of interest was due mainly to transfer, owing to exigencies of
the public service, of devoted Fellows of the Society, who are Government
servants: that it was not due to political agitation; and that the best
suggestions they could offer were that Inspectors should be appointed to
visit the Branches at short intervals and lecture for their benefit; and that
the Head-quarters should frequently communicate with them.
Mr. Kotayya had, in compliance with these suggestions, visited the
Branches of Southern India, while the President-Founder, and Messrs.
Keightley and Harte have also made various tours.
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5
20 LUCIFER.
After the financial and branch reports had been given, the following
letter from the learned Indian Sanskritist author, Professor Dvivedi, was
read by the Secretary:-
GENTLEMEN,
It is over four years since the day when our respected and beloved President-Founder
performed the very noble ceremony of declaring open the Adyar Oriental Library. The
results of the institution will. no doubt. be as far-reaching and universally beneficent as the
idea of it. which has been conceived in the true spirit of universal brotherhood. originally
intended. The endless topic of its inexhaustible advantages and benefits-individual,
national. and universal-has well-nigh been exhausted by our worthy President-Founder
in his Inaugural address of 1886. It is now for us to see how far these aims and objects
have been actually realised. and what remains for those interested in the revival of ancient
literature to accomplish. And. the remark may be permitted. it is difficult to conceive not
so much who are. as who are not. interested in such a revival. For such a revival means
national regeneration. and moral and spiritual progress. not of any particular nation or
community. but of the whole world. It has repeatedly been observ.:d by intelligent and
thoughtful men. and abroad. that the ancient learning of India deserves a place. and
perhaps the topmost one. even in the republic of modem advancement and research.
None. but one whose eyes are entirely blinded by materialism. could fail to see the immense
influence which the revival of Sanskrit literature has exercised on comparative philology
and mythology. and therefore on the historical development of religion and metaphysics in
general. And indeed the claims of ancient wisdom for recognition at our hands have been
very well put on as neutral a ground as possible by our large-minded President-Founder.
He says ... if the ancient books are as valuable as some allege. the sooner we prove it the
better: if they are not. we cannot discern the fact too speedily". Either way a careful
study of these books is extremely useful. to say nothing more.
What we want at present therefore is such a thoroughly permanent footing for the
library and its works as will ensure permanence to its future well-being and activity. The
work before the institution is two-fold: the of fresh books and MSS. and the
translation and publication of important works into English and subsequently into the
several vernaculars. This is a question of funds. and competent co-operation. The library
as it stands at present is unprovided for. though the work above alluded to. is just the one
without which the original object of the institution cannot be said to be fulfilled. It is
therefore the duty of every native of India. from the richest prince to the poorest peasant,
to contribute his mite towards this national work. It is truly national. inasmuch as it is a
work. nay the work, most essential for national regeneration. accompanied with moral and
spiritual exaltation. It is in fact the only way to polish into nicety the various rough
ends and angularities of the dead-letter creeds of superstition and ignorance. The idea of
universal brotherhood which we all cherish. cannot have a better way prepared for its
actual realisation than the work before the Oriental Library. These certainly are ends,
practical ends. worthy to be striven for, and the duty of every true son of India lies plaIn
before him.
It will not here be out of place to give an outline of a scheme for carrying out the said
work. Our estimates should naturally be very modest and moderate to begin with. The
whole work must be placed under the definite superintendence and guidance of a
thoroughly competent English and Sanskrit scholar, who should combine in himself the
duties of Director of the Oriental Library and Superintendent of the Translation and
Publication Department. He must have at least one competent Sastree to assist him. and
to serve as general referee in matters of difficulty. Both these should be assisted in the
work of looking after the library. doing sundry translations. examining proof sheets. and
serving generally as copyists. clerks. and librarians. by at least two competent men.
It is intended that the Director and Superintendent should add to the stock of books
and MSS. every year. as the funds at his disposal permit. and as the Councd of the
Library sanction. But besides this what he should chiefly attend to is translations of
important Sanskrit works into English. He may. however. from time to tim.e. invite
competent specialists to take up translations of different Sanskrit works into English.
arranging with them. from the funds at his disposal. the terms of their honorarium. which,
however. we do not expect any gentleman serving so noble a national cause will ever
condescend to accept.
When the English translations leave the press. the Director should arrange to have
them translated into the Tamil. Marathi, Guzaratl. Hindi. and Bengali vernaculars, and
published through eminent book-houses in the several provinces.
The expenditure for maintaining an establishment of this kind and for keeping up the
Library would be about Rs. 5.000 per annum. or an amount equal to the interest on a
hundred thousand Rupees at 5 per cent. The sale of the Library's publications would. in
time. be able to supply some considerable item. but this cannot. however. at present be
counted upon; for WIth the increase in the income. there will be proportionate mcrease in
the calls on the activity of the Library and th"refrom increase in the expenditure on
account of staff, etc.
The direction in which the energies of the said staff may be engaged for a number of
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THEOSOPHICAL ACTIVITIES.
years to come. may briefly be indicated. A large stock of Sanskrit works has been brought
to light, published, translated, annotated, or edited. But the Darshana literature, as well
as the Tantraliterature, is still, on account of its internal difficulties. a sealed book for
Orientalists. But these exactly are those phases of thought which. with the Puranas, all
of which are not yet translated, represent the metaphysical and moral aspect of Indian
philosophy. Not only that. but they are most important in bringing about that moral and
spiritual progress which we are aiming at.
Translations of important works are not all that we require. We require elementary
manuals and easy catechisms. after the system of Western scholars, to familiarize the
rising generations with the sublime truths of the higher learning. These ought to be attended
to. It may not be out of place to hint at the most burning necessity wbich at the present
moment exists for a catechism of the Advaita. on the lines of Col. Olcott's Buddhist
Catechism. The necessity is felt not only in Theosophical circles, but throughout India
and the civilized world, for the Advaita, besides being the groundwork of the sublime
edifice of Theosophy, is at the same time an easily accessible form of that universal Truth
which is present in all formal religions of the world. The late lamented Mr. T. Subba Row
contemplated some such thing as an Advaita Catechism, and he was best fitted to do it,
with the depth of thought and richness of Intellect that he possessed. All the same, the
necessity for such a book is daily pressing upon us. and it behoves any gentleman in our
midst. who may be qualified to take up the work, to come forward. and undertake it.
These few remarks fully explain the scope. utility. and emergency of what the Library
has to attend to. It is all a question of funds and we earnestly invite all to contribute
towards this grand work of national regeneration. MANILAL N. DVIVEDI.
Addresses from the European, British and American Sections, from the
Odessa group, the Swedish and Ionian Branches, were then read, and were
followed by the report of the Ceylon Section, read by Dr. Bowles Daly.
He said: There is every reason to be satisfied with the work done here
during the past year. The sectional work during the absence of a General
Secretary has been conducted by H. Dhammapala, assisted by Mr.
Buultjens and others. Branches were visited in the Western Province
and some schools organized by the native villagers. In the month of March
I visited the Island on my way to India. During a few weeks' stay I visited
some of the more important towns, delivering addresses in several places.
The presence of a European seemed to inspire the people with energy and
resolution to prosecute the work already begun.
Thousands of cheap publications have been issued by the Buddhist
Press. The introductory Catechism by Mr. Leadbeater has had a very
wide circulation. The Olcott Catechism has been used only in the higher
classes of the schools, 28,000 Sinhalese copies having been circulated in the
Island.
The Christian missionaries are unusually active; they are using every
effort to deprive the Buddhists of the opportunities of educating their
children. . .
The Second Annual Convention of the T.S. was held on the 8th and
gth of November last at Kandy. The W. E. Society, under the leadership
of Mrs. \Verakoon, is pushing on its operation. Five girls' schools are now
opened within the year. From August to 14th December I was engaged on
a lecturing tour in the Central and Sabaragamawa Provinces. Received a very
friendly welcome in every village and town; visited from 70 to 100 places;
delivered about 120 lectures and addresses on Buddhism, Theosophy, Occult
learning, Condition of Christianity in large towns in England, showed the
importance of industrial and technical education. The money collected
after lectures amounts to Rs. I,gIl-gO. Sold Rs. 300 worth of books. .
The social condition of several of the villages was very low; drinking,
gambling and idleness very prevalent. The people in every instance hailed
with acclamation my proposal to introduce industrial schools. The want of
technical education is very much felt.
I am glad to be able to report that the heads of the Government in
Ceylon have given me their assurance of sympathy and support in developing
the schemes of industrial and technical education. I have virtually pledged
myself to the Public Instruction Department to comply with and support the
scheme of Government education.
6
5
22
LUCIFER.
Mr. Tokusawa then delivered the following address, on behalf of the
Kioto Theosophists and the Buddhists of Japan:-
BRoTHERs,-My presence, and that of this Buddhist Priest, Mr.
Kozen Gunaratne, indicates the influence which your Society, through the
President, has acquired in our distant country. With my little smattering
of English, It is impossible for me to describe all that Colonel Olcott has
done there. The effect of his tour through Japan last year has been so
great and so lasting, that the current of pubhc opinion has been actually
turned in the opposite direction. The letters and newspapers received
weekly at Colombo by myself and compatriots prove what I have just
stated. It is wonderful that one man could have done so much. \Vhen I
think of the condition of my religion three years ago I feel inclined to
shudder, because it was then at its lowest ebb. The more I reflect upon
these evil times, the more inclined I am to bless the Theosophical Society
and Colonel Olcott. A comparison between the state of Buddhism then
and now justifies what I say. Some of you may know that Buddhism was
introduced into Japan in 70 A.D., and it appealed so strongly to the senti-
ments of the people that it soon acquired widespread influence, and finally
became the national religion.
But, unfortunately, some centuries later the Portuguese missionaries
arrived and persuaded some Buddhists to change their creed, and Chris-
tianity gradually acquired power in the land. Especially was this the case
during the last 30 yt!ars, when Buddhism was trampled under foot by the
missionaries, for till quite recently the more educated of our people regarded
Buddhism and its priests with contempt. A few staunch followers of the
Lord Buddha's doctrine tried to counteract the influence of the Christians,
but it was in vain. It was at this dark moment that the Buddhists came
to hear of the work of Colonel Olcott, and asked his aid and sympathy.
Therefore, last year, Mr. Noguchi was sent to this country to persuade
the Colonel to go to Japan and make a lecturing tour through the whole
country. This, I am happy to say, he did, and his success was far beyond
our most sanguine expectations. Buddhism took life again, and Buddhists
began everywhere to undertake the revival of their ancient faith. Among
the most conspicuous effects of this revival are the three Buddhist Univer-
sities and various Colleges now about to be instituted; and the establish-
ment of about three hundred periodicals advocating and defending
Buddhism.
You, no doubt, know all about Colonel Olcott's historic mission to
l
apan-how he went there, escorted by Mr. Zensiro Noguchi, and
aboured for nearly five months in our country for the renovation of
Buddhism. By his fiery eloquence and earnestness he aroused the sleep-
ing Buddhists and rut new life into religion.
The spread 0 materialism and scepticism was checked; the insuf-
ficiency of Christianity for our wants was shown; and the truth of
Buddhism vindicated. A reaction of a most marvellous character has-as
1 have remarked-set in in favour of Buddhism. The founding of many
Buddhist schools, Buddhist newspapers and religious journals are the
visible results of the Colonel's mission. Imperial Princes and Princesses
have begun to take a prominent part in Buddhistic education and propa-
ganda. An Imperial Princess has become the patroness of the Buddhist
Women's Society of Nagoya, which was founded soon after he had
lectured in that city and in consequence of his tribute to woman. An
Imperial Prince has become President of the" Dasa Sila Society"; a body
founded for promoting the observance of the ten precepts of Buddhism ten
years ago, but which, owing to the strong opposition of the Christian and
sceptical classes, had died out. After the Colonel's mission it has been
revived and is now working. The people now look to the Colonel as their
benefactor, and to many he is almost their father. The Christians have
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THEOSOPHICAL ACTIViTIES.
ceased to be so aggressive as before: their converts are inventing a new
form of their faith. Yes, the mission of Col. Olcott to Japan will be
recorded in history. The Japanese will ever remain grateful to him and to
his Society, and I hope, Brothers, you will always take a kindly interest in
our people.
On the second day of the Convention the constitution and rules of the
Indian Section were discussed and passed; and it was then moved and
seconded, and unanimously carried by acclamation, that the appointment
of Mr. Bertram Keightley as General Secretary, made by the President-
Founder, should be ratified by the Convention. Mr. Keightley, in
accepting the office, sketched the lines on which he proposed to carryon
the work. He said he would make it a sine qllti non that he should be
provided with two Assistant Secretaries to reside with him, who were
required to be educated and intelligent men, with some taste for philosophy
and metaphysical thought, and whose duty it would be to communicate
regularly with the Branches and keep touch with them. It was his plan
that press copies of letters written to the Branches should be kept for his
reference, and for this purpose he would divide the correspondence with
all the Branches between his two Assistants, and made them, so to speak,
his eyes and ears. Besides that, it would also be part of their work and
of his own duty to keep in communication with scattered and unattached
members, whose help would be of great importance to him so far as their
time would permit. The second branch of his scheme was to print and
circulate to every member of the Indian Section gratis every month a
pamphlet of 12 pages (duodecimo) consisting of questions and answers on
topics of Theosophical interest. In doing this, he would make free extracts
from the "Theosophical Forum", but, broadly speaking, it would deal
with any questions of interest bearing on Theosophy in any sort of way
that might be sent him. In this work, he looked to unattached members
helping him very particularly. In the pamphlet he wished to give as much
of Hindu thought as of 'Vestern thought, and he would send it to
Mr. Judge, who would make use of the matter about Hindu thought there.
In tne case of the members of Branches, the required number of copies
would be sent to the Secretary for distribution, and in the case of ur.
attached members they would be sent direct to them from the Head-
quarters. His third scheme of work was to prepare and issue for all
Branches in India a paper or papers which might be read at Branch
meetings, once a month at least. This was the American scheme, and
such paper would be a pamphlet of sixteen or twenty-four pages uniform
in size with the new paper, and would be issued only to Secretaries of Branches
and not under any circumstances to the individual members. The object was to
give an inducement to the members of a Branch for attending its meetings,
to afford a stimulus to scattered members to form a Branch, to assist in the
work of the Branch, to furniSH materials to Branches for study and dis-
cussion, and to attract outsiders. Those were the three lines of work he
proposed to initiate. Another part of the work would be to get up lecturing
tours and visitations by the Provincial Secretaries, and such inspectors as
Mr. Kotayya. About 3000 rupees a year would be necessary for carrying
on the work of the General Secretary's office.
On the third day of the Convention the reports of the Finance, Adyar
Library, and Property Trust Committees were read and discussed. When
all these had been disposed of, Mr. Tookaram Tatya rising said that he had
a resolution to propose, to which he felt sure there would be no opponents.
Such eminent services as had been rendered to this country by the
Founders, he considered to be altogether beyond acknowledgment; but he
felt that, for the sake of this Society, some permanent memorial of those
honoured personages should be preserved at Head-quarters. As he under-
stood that a bust of Col. Olcott was at present being made by public
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LUC/FEN.
subscription, he would move that a copy of Col. Olcott's bust should be
procured, and a companion bust of Madame Blavatsky made, and that
these two busts should be placed in the Adyar Library, as memorials of
the Founders and an honour and ornament to the Library itself.
This motion having been seconded by Mr. Mehta, gave rise to some
discussion; none of the speakers opposed the object of Mr. Tookaram's
motion, but there was a unanimous feeling that if it were adopted, the fact
should be made perfectly clear to the Fellows and to the public that these
busts were in no way intended to represent all the Society'S recognition to
the Founders for the services they had rendered. Mr. Tookaram Tatya
having vehemently disclaimed any such intention, and it having been
understood that the honour done by the placing of the busts in the Library
was rather to the Society than to the Founders, the motion was carried
unanimously. -
On the motion of Mr. Keightley a Committee was appointed to
consider the best way to meeting the expenses of Colonel Olcott's respite
from the cares of office, during which time it was the wish of the Society
that he should have all that might be necessary for rest and recreation in
whatever part of the world he might select.
This Committee reported at the evening session of the same day as
follows: "That, in our opinion, it is our duty to provide liberally for
Colonel Olcott's needs during the furlough which his present state of health
has rendered necessary. We therefore recommend that a subscription list
be opened by the Assistant Treasurer for this purpose, and that all Fellows
of the Society and a.ll well-wishers of the President-Founder be urgently
requested to send in, without further solicitation, any sums they may wish
to subscribe for the purpose."
The report of this Committee having been adopted, a resolution to
the above effect was unanimously passed by the Convention.
The proceedings of the Convention terminated with a most hearty
and enthusiastic vote of confidence and loyalty in Madame H. P.
Blavatsky.

" In vain Remorse and Fear and Hate
Beat with bruised hands against a fate
Whose walls of iron duly move
And open to the touch of love.
He duly feels his burdens fall,
Who, taught by suffering, pities all."
WHITTIER
.
Give no more to every guest,
Than he is able to digest,
Give him always of the prime,
And but little at a time;
Carve to all but just enough,
Let them neither starve nor stuff,
And that you may have your due,
Let your neighbour carve for you.
DEAN SWIFT.
Ie Tubal must dare as great beginners dare,
Strike form's first way in matter rude and bare,
And, yearning vaguely toward the plenteous quire
Of the world's harvest, make one poor small lyre."
"The Legend of Jubal."
GEORGE ELIOT.
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TllEOSOPHICAL AND MYSTIC PUBLICATIONS. 525
Ib t1l1Ulpbical
AND
_U'lrtic 'nblicatillu.s.
THE THEOSOPHIST for January
starts with an instructi ve paper by the Pre-
sident-Founder, entitled "The New Reli-
gious Cycle in India". Colonel Olcott con-
trasts the present position of two famous
societies which preceded the 1'.5. in India.
These indigenous societies were the
Brahmo 5amaj and the Arya Samaj, and
the object of both was the revival of the
religious spirit of the Hindus. The Arya
Samaj, which was then inspired by the
lamented and learned Pandit Dayanand
5araswati, was well disposed to the T.5.,
although its sectarianism could not be
expanded into the catholic platform of
Theosophy, and is still an active society
working for the regeneration of Indian
thought and the revi val oCthe spirit of the
Vedic religion. The Brahmo 5amaj on
the other hand had departed almost
entirely from the lines of its illustrious
founder Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, who was
a Theosophist born before his time. It
had crystallized into a sect, or rather three
sects, aping the externals of Christianity,
and under the leadership of. Keshub
Chunder Sen was violently opposed to
the 1'.5. This foreign element could
naturally find no permanent soil in India,
and has now brought about .the disinte-
gration of the Samaj, which is in a mori-
bund condition. As the editor of the
Illdian Mirror remarks, however the
original spirit of the Veda Samaj of' Ram
Mohun Roy, who worked with all his soul
for the spreading of the Braillnagn)'an, the
equivalent for Theosophy, has
remcarnated in the 1'.5., which is the
most striking factor of" the ne\v religious
cycle in India". There is, howe.ver, still
much to be done, for, as the Colonel says,
II The ocean of Sanskrit learning has
not yet been sounded by modern plummet,
only a few pearls have been recovered
from the banks near the shore. The true
and only sounding-line is the golden
strand of Esoteric meaning that runs
throughout the scriptural texts and philo-
sophical teachings."
Mr. Fawcett in a revie\v of Romanes
tries to persuade us that he is really
of .. his hypothetical" ape-like pro
gem tors. However everyone has a
right to his own personal God. "Human
Character" is a paper by the late Mrs.
Cotton, tbe comparative
study of PhYSiology, Phrenology, Cheir.
osophy. Graphology, and Astrology. The
sensible views of the authoress make her
sudden death the more regrettable. The
notes by "A.K." on "The Spiritualists
in Congress" are interesting. Under the
heading H The American 5ection of the
Theosophical Society". Bertram Keight-
ley enthusiastically reviews the past SIX
months of "ctivity in the U.S. as read in
the pages of the Path, and holds the
Section up to the Hindus as a worthy
example to follow i we cordially endorse
the views of the writer. Very useful and
instructive is the paper entitled" Hindu
Theism ", which consists of selections
from the texts of various sacred books of
the Hindus cited in a series of articles by
Babu Raj Narain Bose, which appeared
in the early numbers of the Theosophist.
This is a most useful paper. The Kum-
bakonan 1'.5. continue their good work
with translations of the "Atma-Bodha
Upanishad of Rig-Veda" and the II Skanda
Upanishad of Krishna YajurVeda". Both
are most excellent. The notes on "The
Practice of Pranayama Yoga" are incor-
rect, and we are afraid that the advice
given in the last paragraph will never
bring the enquirer within a thousand miles
of hearing the" Voice ofthe Silence".
THE PATH for January commences .
with one of the best articles on esoteric-
ism that has appeared in it for some time,
entitled" Mount Meru ". We are glad to
see that it is to be continued. It traces
the analogy between the symbolism of
Mount Meru and Man, and collects some
of the hints which are scattered through-
out the Secret iJoctrille and The Voice 0/ the
Silmce. "Where the Rishis were" is a
suggestive paper by Bryan Kinnavan, evi
dently inspired by the narrative of the
Destruction of Atlantis as told in the COIII-
mentaries quoted in Volume II. of the
first above mentioned book. Mrs. Ver
Planck !ollows with Lesson III. of her
II Theosophical Catechism". It deals
mostly with the Life Principle and Karma,
and will be most useful. II Swinging
Round the Cycle" is a paper tracing the
recurring assertion and denial of similar
ideas under various aspects. It is marred
by a rehash of the sexual doctrine 01
S)'mjmeumala, that" twin-souled" dogma
that has led to so much absurdity. The
occult germ of this superstition bas been
already explained (Ibid. Vol. I. p. 574).
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LUCIFER.
"Hidden Hints in the Secret Doctrine"
is a collection of some "ery useful notes
by W. Q. J. This is followed by a good
paper over the signature of .. Harij "
on " Discernment and Criticism" and the
number concludes with the usual interest-
ing paper entitled" Tea Table Talk" .
THE BUDDHIST is noticeable for a
"ersion of the" Dharmadwaja Jataka ", a
birth story of a former life of Buddha,
showing how the great Bodhisat counter-
acted the opposition of a malicious enemy
by' his heroic acts and four great virtues.
'1 he writer, Chandra Mitra, prefaces the
Jataka by a short history of the deterior
ation of the originally simple and moral
life of the Sinhalese bv the introduction
of "the sensual enjoyments and material
pleasures of the West, miscalled chj)jza
tion" and of the re\'ival of Buddhism
under the auspices of the T.S. The Bud-
dhists are protesting not only in their
own papers, but also in the general press,
against the injustice of the Government
Grants-in-aid being almost entirely mono
polised by missionary institutions. A
writer in the Ge)'/Oll bldefmdmt says :-
" I have t,lken the trouble to count up
the total numbel' of Grant.in-aid Schools
for 1891-and there are in all 1,000. Of
these only 18 Buddhist schools receh'e
any grant at all . .
.. Until "cry lately the Government
undertook the education of the pcople
directly; but some 10 years ago a very
large number of Government Schools
were closed and as the Buddhists had at
. the time no organised body, the work
naturally fell into the hands of the mis-
sionaries. This was a se,'ere blow upon
the Buddhists, for in those schools prose-
lytising was as much the am) secular
education. Buddhist boys were compelled
to attend the Christian chapels, as at St.
Thomas' College,and they were also pun-
ished for attending such religious festi-
"als as the Wesak. Boys who had entered
Christian schools as Buddhists came out
after their course of education as Chris-
tians-or rather as nominal Christians-
havinl; been subjected to baptism and con-
firmatIOn. I ha,'e myself witnessed a
string of school-boys of about 13 or 14
led by the missionary to the font for
baptism at the hands of the bishop. These
were the children of Buddhist parents,
and in after years I have seen them as
Buddhists again, or as Indifferentists and
Agnostics."
The following remarks on the subject
are made by a Roman Catholic contem-
porary of the Buddhist:-
Of Had Protestants entered the field
. merely as educators, having no other end
in view than to impart instruction to the
people, they would have acquired a title
to the gratitude, but to them
education was'a means to an end; their
real object was to impose upon the un-
suspecting natives their particular reli.
gious tenets, using instruction as it were
the sugar "'ith which the pill was coated.
By this means the sects have got a few
converts, many of them hypocrites; but
the rest are dissatisfied and frequent the
padiri's school because no other is avail
able. The moment a school is opened in
which they can get the knowledge they
want without the religious teaching tbey
want not, no wonder they leave the padiri
for the Buddhist teacher."
ORIENTAL DEPARTMENT, AME-
SECTIOX: "Some Customs of
Aryavarta" is the title of an interesting
article br Swami Bhaskara Nand Saras-
wati, 1".'1.5., occup\"ing the major part of
the first pamphlet of the new .. Oriental
Department' of the Americ'ln Section,
which has just been by our
indefatigable colleague, W. Q. Judge.
This practical and instructive series is in-
tended to create a more general interest
in Oriental subjects, not only among the
members of the T.S. but also among the
public. That it will be a success is shown
by the f.lct that the D"ily T,.ibu"e of New
York has reprinted it almost in full. If
we mistake not, this effort will pruve the
germ of a banyan tree of Theosophic in-
terest in the U.S., and we wish it most
cordially every success.
le Lotus Bleu, in addition to the usual
tmnslations has some interesting posthu-
mous notes of L. Dramard on II lJorality
and Pantheism" and a paper on TI Atoms
and Radiant Matter fl.
TI,e TluosojJn;c.11 Forum, No. 19, is an
interesting number, not the least credit-
able answer is the reply to the question:
" Is not Theosophy simpl)' the teaching
of Jesus Christ; that IS to say, did
Christ teach anything that Theosophy
contradicts? " The mysterious injunc-
tion, II Resist not evil," is objected to ;
it certainly is a difficulty. We surely
have no right to be more unjust to
ourselves than to others; for pcrfe::t
justice to all is the Law. Resent"
would certainly be a better word than
II Resist," but the Gre"k will not stand
the strain, no matter what force IS put
upon it.
The Vahnll, Nos. 4 and 5 . are noticeable
for the article .' Theosophical Skeletons"
and some notes on the Rig Veda. There
can be no doubt of its general utility .
TIle Prtlsnolltlrtl is the title of a new
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THEOSOPHICAL AND MYSTIC PUBLICATIONS. 527
paper after the style of the Forum and
Vahan which will be issued gratis to all
Fellows of the T.S. in India. It is lhe
creation and under the auspices of our
co-worker, Bertram Keightley,
who IS inaugurating his accession to office
at Adyar by some very practic'll new
departures. It will be conducted on the
principle of question and answer, and a
preliminary set of questions has been sent
to numbers of competent Fellows, so that
the answers may be made .nore vahiable.
This is another step in the right direction,
and "The Garland of Questions and
Answers" has Ol1r most sincere good
wishes.
TeoSQjisk Tidskrift. Our Swedish
.. Theosophical Journal" for January
contains among other interesting matter,
an article on "The Wisdom Religion" by
E. B. and also translations of "The Tid;11
\Vave" by H. P. B. and" The Theosophi-
cal Society and H.P.B." by Annie Bes:mt.
The acti\'ities are well arranged and the
whole undertaking is distinctly useful.
Theosoplzic,,1 vol. 3, Nos. 15-16,
price sixpence, is entitled "Keely and
Science." This pamphlet summarises
the latest developments of Keely's
theories and discoveries, and contains
many deeply and suggesth'e
passages from Keely s letters upon
those vibratory forces which he has dis-
covered and is now attempting to control
and utilise.
Theosophical Siftings: \'01. 3, No. 17,
price threepence, opens with a kindly
"New Year's Greeting" to those who
have the welfare of the Theosophical
Caube at heart. There is also a valuable
paper by W. W. Westcott, 1\1.8., ad-
dressed to .. enquirers into Theosophy and
Practical Occultism ", in which the writer,
after a concise sketch of Theo-
liophical Allns and Doctrines, earnestly
warns the untrained student of the
dangers which threaten those who enter
heedlessly into occult pursuits. Particular
stress is laid upon the folly of dabbling
in Hypnotism. The number concludes
with an interesting though somewhat
erroneous paper on the life llnd teachings
of the Gnostic Heresiarch" Simon
Magus '. --
Tr.l1Isaclions oj Ike Blal/alsk}' L"dge, Pt. 2,
has at length appf'llred and resumes the
interesting and instructive discussions on
the Stanzas of Vol. I. of the Secret Doctrine
which occupied the Lodge for the first
six months of 1889. In it wi\l be found
some valuable hints on the Astral Light,
Elementals, Genesis of Planets and the
Hierarchies. The number is slightly
smaller than Pt. I, and the price for non-
subscribers is IS. Students orthe Esoteric
Philosophy as outlined in the Surd Doc
trine wi\l find the" Transactions II indis-
pensable. -' --
H)'ckellill TeoSQjim is the Swedish title
of the Key to Theosophy. It is an excellent
translation, and the press work and bind-
ing reflect great credit on Swedish taste
and workmanship.
THEOSOPHICAL PUBLICA
IN HOLLAND.
We have before us a bundle of pamph-
lets in Dutch, printed by J. A. Meeuwis-
sen, Amsterdam, and headed:
I. Wat is de beluliCllis der TluoSQphie t
(What is the meaning of Theosophy?) by
H.A. V.
2. De noodzakeli./'klltid der Re;1lcartltltu
(The necessity of Reincarnation.)
3. lVilt/rom of lut matlmam is zich aan It'
stlliltll hi} tie TlltoslIpllisdlt Vtreenigi1l/:
(Why one should join the Theosophical
Society), by B. K.
4. Practische Tluosophie (Practical The-
osophv.)
s. De Theosl!/ische Sjinx (The Sphinx of
Theosophy), by Annie Besant. ,
These are all most excellent selections
for translation, and will form a firm ground
work for Theosophy in the Netherlands.
lId Westen door Oostt'r5cll licht Bese/l-
enen- Tllt(lsophisdu 3 pages,
(The Eastern light shining upon the
West, Theosophical Miscel\anies) contains
in a popular form a summary on various
subjects connected with Theosophy,
mainly translations, viz:
1. lIt:! geluugm bij slervendm (The
Memory of the dying) by H. P. B., from
Lucifer.
2. De magllelise/1t slroom (The magnetic
current), from the Spanish.
3. DI! Wi/(The Will), from the Spanish.
4 . Em Btngaalsche 1i./'gerill door em
Fakir .t:tlellld" (A Bengal tigress subdued
by a Fakir), " Isis Unveiled."
S. Godsditllstslelsel m misdaad (Reli-
gious Systems and Crime), extracted from
the Theosopllisl.
6. Projdie (Prophecy), from "Saklz,,,a
placc itl hislorr," foreshadowing a
series of frightful disasters indicative of
the close of an era and the commence-
ment of a new one.
7. Boeddhistische Gebodm (Buddhist
Commandments), contain the 10 beautiful
vows of Gautama's followers.
To this are added a few golden pre-
cepts, a short mention of the objects of Ihe
Theosophical (p. 41), and a list of
all the places in the world where the 1'.5.
has a branch.
These publications are due to the un-
flagging energy and devotion of Mme.
H. de Neuf\'i1Ie, whose generosity and
industry are beyond all praise.
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LUCIFER.
ijtbtosnpbital Itnbing librarits.
THEOSOPHICAL Libraries are to be found at the addresses given
below. The list of hooks and terms on which they are lent will be sent by
the respective librarians on application.
Brightolt. l\hs. S. I. Chase, q, Stamford Road.
LJllblm. The Secretary, Duhlin Theosophical Society, 105, Stephen's
Green, South. (Books issued to Members and Associates
only.)
Edinburgh. A. P. Cattanach, 67, Brunswick Street. is the most
convenient day for enquirers.)
LilJtrpool. J. Hill, 17, Great George Square. (Books issued to Members
and Associates only.)
LOnd01I. Theosophical Publication Society, 7. Duke Street, Adelphi,
W.C.
Philalethean Lodge, 153, Acre Lane, Brixton, S.W. Librarian,
H. Coryn. (Open to Members and Associates.)
East London Theosophical Library, 345, Mile End Road, E.
Librarian, F. G. Chapman. Reading Room open every
evening free. Meetings every Tuesday, except the first of
the month.
J. P. Dowling, II, York Road, Battersea. The Librarian is
present every day except Thursday, from lIto 3 and 6 to 9.
Sundays I I to 2.
Mer/h)'r T}'dfil. Theosophical Free Library, 18, Park Place. Librarian,
E. M. Thomas.
Newcastlt.on.T.-""e. F. Bandon Oding, 30, Hartington Street.
Sllljfitid. C. J. Barker, 503, Intake Road.
OOnr Ilnbgtt.
BUILDING FUND.
Deficiency from last account
RECEIVED.
Per H. P. B. 5 dollars . .
Balance of Stein way Hall lecture
L. J. W.
E. . ... . .
r 0 0
I 18 10
100
10 0 0
Deficiency
LECTURE FUND.
304 16 10
13 18 10
{290 18 0
Hon. Mrs. Malcolm .. ... ... ...... 2 0 0
Thh. fund is for the purpose of meeting the cost of London lectures and of paying the
expenses of lecturers from London to the provinces. All donations should be sent to
HERBERT BURROWS, 283, Victoria Park Road, London, N.E., Tr,asu,.lI'.
EDITORI A L OnCE.
We draw lhe special ollu,li()11 0/ our r{fldfrS 10 Ihe/at! thai Ille Edilcr ojTnrE (pu61isllLd l),
Jlfrssrs . Soynmscheill 6- Co., quare, L Ol/dUlI, E.C. p, iu r/.) has pr"miud /0 Uue, I
in Ihe jorlhcomill.t Jlla" ch "umber (/1/ al by A ntdi Dun"/, C.;rt:al Marl/'S A'ut of
Ihe Psychical Stkitl), ", dta/h'g tvllh lite /I Hodgsoll Repor/" .lIme. DlaN/S!:;-,
r NJIfJed by Mr. FrallR Podmore In a recml arllclt. e aSR OU' /rze.ds 1o Jf1fIe Me 'u.''Id,s/ pItH;""tI)'
10 Ihis Ontloullcemml. .
ERRATUM.- January number, page 4I4, line 6 from bottom, read Lochs for Loksha.
WO"&/I'S PRI/ITING SOCIITV, Limited. 218 College St=I, W.Mmin,ler.
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